

V ' = . . ' ^^ O 





G ^ -» O 




o V 






V 




.^^ 




'^O^ 








A 



^oV^ 




-n^o^ 






<?.^ 




^'^' 







.<Jv 



\ 




4 

, >^^f A". •''^. / 




.0 



,^^ 




A 



^^ ^<^ 








.-^^ 



BIOGRAPHY 

OF THE 

REV. ROBERT EINLEY, D. J)., 

OK BASKING lU D G E , N . J . 

SECOND EDITION, ENLARGED. 

WITH AN 

ACCOUNT OF IIIS AGENCY AS THE AUTHOR 

OF 

ALSO 

A SKETCH OF THE SLAVE TRADE; 



A VIKW OF OUR NATIONAL POLICY AND THAT OF GREAT BRITAIN TOWARDS 

LIBERIA AND AFRICA. 



WITH AN APPENDIX, 



REV. ISAAC V. BROWN, A. M 



PHILADELPHIA : 

JOHN ^Y. MOORE, 195 CHESTNUT STREET, 

1857. 



^^A\ 



,y6t 



Eatered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S56, by 

ISAAC V. BROWN, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern 
District of Pennsvlrania. 



HENBY B. ASHMEAP, BOOK AND JOB PRISTER, 
George Street iilun c Kleveiith. 



PREFACE TO FIllST EDITION. 



An intelligent gentleman, in the congregation of Basking 
Ridge, many years ago, while contemplating his beloved pas- 
tor, in the midst of his ministerial labors and successes, made 
the following declaration : " Were I ambitious, I would 
rather be Robert Finley than Ceesar or Bonaparte. 

And truly his character was so exalted and pure, his life so 
conspicuous and useful — his transactions so judicious and 
important, and his name so dear, that forming, in this transi- 
tory world, a memorial of his excellence, is an act, not less of 
justice to him, than of kindness to ourselves. Few men have 
recently appeared on the stage of life, more truly and deeply 
devoted to the interests of Christ's kingdom and the good of 
mankind ; few men have been so early in life, so prominently 
and so indefatigably engaged in enterprises of benevolence 
and piety ; few men have performed so many labors in the 
church, and enjoyed so great a harvest of success in the divine 
service, as Dr. Finley. There are therefore but few, whose 
claims upon the church and upon the world, for posthumous 
reo-ard, are so clear and so strong as his, and there have re- 



IV PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. 

cently been few whose lives and characters are so well calcu- 
lated to instruct, to animate and profit others. 

It was under the influence of such sentiments respecting Dr. 
Finley, that the resolution, to attempt preparing a biograph- 
ical view of his character and life, was first formed. The 
narrow limits, then contemplated, have been insensibly and 
unavoidably surpassed : — that which was originally expected 
to make a pamphlet, or, at most, a small 12 mo. has been ne- 
cesssarily enlarged and put in the form of an octavo. In the 
course of the narrative, the names of several deceased minis- 
ters of the gospel rose into view, who are still remembered with 
interest by some, and who deserve the tribute of recollection 
and respect which is here paid to them. 

Dr. Finley was so earnestly devoted to the business of edu- 
cation in all its degrees and relations, that in order to illus- 
trate fully his views and transactions in regard to that subject, 
as well as others, it was thought expedient to introduce in the 
form of notes at the close of the volume several essays or dis- 
cussions, on topics incidentally connected with the narrative.* 

With regard to the manner in which the work has been ex- 
ecuted, the writer would observe that he is fully sensible of 
the correctness and force of the remark : — 

^^ Difficile est proprie comnninia dicere." 

Nevertheless he has dared to disregard an injunction of the 
same high classic authority : — 

" Scepe stylum vertas iterum, quce digna legi sint Scriptiwus." 

Having enjoyed neither much leisure, nor good health, du- 
ring the period in which the manuscript, of the following 

* These notes are omitted iu the present edition. 



PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. V 

memoirs &c. was prepared, he has not pleased himself, and 
cannot therefore, expect very extensively to please others. — 
His great object has been to draw a true character, rather than 
a handsome portrait — to make an honest and useful, rather 
than a splendid volume — to place .correctly before our view- 
that high, 

" Exemplar vitce morumqite," 

which this deceased man of God uniformly exhibited while 
among us — and thus, to render to the Heavenly Father a de- 
serving and lasting tribute of praise for the signal manifesta- 
tions of his grace, which we behold in the life of his servant. 

On the whole, if this volume shall be found to record events 
and to detail transactions conducive to the honor of God, to 
human improvement and Christian comfort ; — if it shall, in 
some small measure furnish materials to assist others, hereaf- 
ter, in forming a connected and expanded view of the church 
of Christ, and of divine beneficence and grace to men ; — if, by 
exhibiting the ardent and unwearied exertions of this distin- 
guished and excellent servant of the Lord, it shall be instru- 
mental in strengthening the resolutions and exciting the zeal 
of survivors, to follow him in his pious and benevolent career, 
to repair the loss which is sustained by his lamented removal, 
to preserve from failure and carry to perfection the plans of 
benevolence from the prosecution of which he was suddenly 
withdrawn, the end of this publication will be accomplished. 
And to make it productive of these happy results, may the di- 
vine benediction rest upon it ! 

Lawrenceville, N. J., January 7, 1819. 

1* 



PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 



The first Edition of the Biography of the late Rev. Roliert 
Finley, D. D., of Basking Ridge, New Jerse3% and afterwards 
of Athens, Georgia, having been disposed of, and requests fre- 
quently presented since, for copies of the work, the author, 
now proposes, to meet the demand in the following sheets. 
Since the first issue circumstances have so greatly changed, as 
to require some modification, in the work. 

So much has been said and written on the subject of the 
origin of the American Colonization Society, frequently pre- 
senting obscure and conflicting statements, that additional 
light seems to be demanded. The writer, having, from the be- 
ginning, known familiarly and fully as a witness and partici- 
pant, the facts and details which gave rise to the Society, — 
feels it to be due to himself — to his deceased friend. Dr. Fin- 
ley — to their native State, New Jersey — to the Colonization 
Society, now existing — and to the public at large — to furnish 
a more minute account of the preliminary steps observed in 
bringing forward and ushering into being, this Society for the 
colonization of the free colored people of these United States, 
on the coast of Africa. 



Vlll PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 

The Society having grown into an institution of great mag- 
nitude, so as to afford an interesting promise of a decided and 
growing influence in promoting the great and benevolent ob- 
ject for which it was established — we cannot doubt that the 
feeble monument, here erected to perpetuate the name and 
character of the prime leader and agent in this highly benev- 
olent organization, will be held dear by multitudes now living 
and by many more, who will soon succeed them on the stage 
of life. 

Most of what was added to the first edition of this work, at 
its close, supposed to possess considerable interest at that time, 
is now omitted, or transferred to other volumes, chiefly to pre- 
serve this, from undue extension — instead of which an Appen- 
dix, is now added, containing interesting intelligence, repect- 
ing the African Coast and the Colony of Liberia. 

ISAAC Y. BROWN. 

Tbenton, March, 1S56. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 



Page. 



View of James Finley, father of Robert — Robert's birth 
and early education — Enters college — Success there — 
First serious impressions — Graduates, commences teach- 
ing — His success — Invitation to Maryland — Assumes 
charge of an academy at Allentown, N. J. — Makes a 
profession of religion — Invited to teach in Charleston, 
South Carolina — Extracts from his diary there. 13 

CHAPTER II. 

Returns to Ncav Jersey — Commences the study of theology — 
Is made tutor in Princeton College — Notes from his 
diary there — Licensure to preach — Ordination at Bask- 
ing Ridge — His marriage — Origin and progess of his 
school — Immediate benefit of his ministry — An awaken- 
ing experienced — Mr. Finley's account of this great 31 
event — His great efforts. 

CHAPTER III. 

Mr. Finley's exertion to retain the Bible as a school book — 
Is elected a trustee of Princeton College — A new excite- 
ment in his parish — Appointed to preach the missionary 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



sermon before the General Assembly — Appointed as a 
delegate to the General Association of Connecticut — A 
very interesting scene at Basking Ridge — Mr. Finley 
labors in Sussex County and other places — He and Rev. 
Geo. S. "WoodhuU originate the Bible Class system in 
churches — Doings of Presbyterian Synod — General As- 
sembly in regard to it — He introduces it into his par- 
ish — Divine blessing follows — Youth awakened. G4 

CHAPTER IV. 

Mr. Finley's tour through his large parish — His health be- 
comes impaired from excessive labors — Account of the 
early and progressive thoughts, plans and doings, pre- 
paratory to the formation of the American Colonization 
Society — Notice of the African Synodical School — Mr. 
Finley's letter to John P. Mumford, Esq. — His journey to 
Washington. 86 

CHAPTER V. 

The organization of the Colonization Society in Congress 
Hall, Dec. 21st, 1816 — H. Clay presided— His speech — 
E. B. Caldwell's address — John Randolph's — Reso- 
lutions — Adjourned meeting — Constitution adopted — 
Officers appointed — Dr. Finley's health improved. 103 

CHAPTER YI. 

Arrives at Philadelphia — Operations there — Establishes an 
auxiliary society in Trenton, New Jersey — Received an 
invitation to settle there — Declined — Capt. Paul Cuffee's 
Letter — Letter of E. B. Caldwell and others — Copy of his 
thoughts on colonization, afterwards published. 121 

CHAPTER YII. 

Rival claims to the authorship of colonization stated — 
Notice by Dr. Alexander in his Colonization History, etc. 



CONTENTS. XI 

CHAPTER VIII. 

rage. 
Letter from Corporation of the University of Georgia — 

Gov. Earlj^'s communication — Mr. Finley accepts the in- 
vitation — Resigns his pastoral charge — His Trusteeship 
at Princeton — Receives the degree of D. D. — Takes leave 
of a Avceping church — Sails from Ncav York. 1 56 

CHAPTER IX. 

On the 16th of May arrives at Savannah — Account of his 
passage — Correspondence — First impressions — Views of 
the College at Athens — First measures — Labors in the 
village — In the college — First commencement — Attends 
Presbytery — Dr. is taken sick. 175 

CHAPTER X. 

Death occurred on the 3d of Nov. 1817 — Transactions of 
trustees — Letters of Correspondence. 207 

CHAPTER XL 

Character of Dr. Finley — Revievs^ of his past course — No- 
tice of his sermons — labors — Death — Letter of Rev. P. 0. 
Studdiford, former pupil of Dr. Finley, giving his early 
thoughts and present recollections of him. 225 

CHAPTER XIL 

A brief History of the Slave Trade — Early connection of the 
English and other nations with the traffic — Sierra Leone — 
"West Indian experiments of the British to apprentice 
slaves, 1833 — To emancipate, 1838 — Failure — Their 
course towards colonization — Free labor and slave labor 
contrasted — British connection with them — Relations of 
the United States with the same — Great importance of 
Africa to England and to the United States, as a vast 
field for free labor — Notices of Liberia — Her progress — 
Her connection with us — Her necessities — Her difficul- 
ties — The interest of the United States, to extend a 



xii ^ CONTENTS. 

prompt and vigorous helping hand to Liberia — to the 
work of Colonization and missions. 249 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Biographical Notice of Rev. James Caldwell, father of Mrs. 

Finley. 283 



APPENDIX. 

I. On Liberia. • 299 

IL Notice of New Jersey Colony in Liberia. 333 



B I G R A r II Y 



REV. ROBERT FINLEY, D.D. 



CHAPTER I. 

View of James Finley, father of Robert — Robert's birth and 
EARLY Education — Enters College — Success there — First 
Serious Impressions — Graduates — Commences Teaching — His 
Success — Invitation to Maryland — Assumes Charge of an 
Academy at Allentovyn, N. J. — Makes a Profession of Reli- 
gion — Invited to Teach in Charleston, S. C. — Extracts from 
his Diary there. 

Mr. James Finley, father - le subject of tlils 
narrative, "was born in Glasgu\>', Scotland, A. D. 
1737. Before be reached his eighteenth year, reli- 
gion took a powerful hold of his mind. It pleased 
God, early to lay him low, and to hold him long un- 
der deep convictions and apprehensions, in a state of 
suspense and anxiety, so awful as nearly to break the 
power of hi.:; reason and the vigor of his frame. At 
the set time, God revealed himself in mercy to this 
convinced and mourning sinner, inspiring hope and 
gladness, where guilt and horror had lately reigned. 
Through life, he often spoke of the sore conflicts he 
2 



14 BIOaRAPHY OF DU. EINLEY. 

then endured, and declared his full belief, that, though 
painful for the present, they had been good and salu- 
tary, working out to him, more abundantly, the 
2?eaceahle fruits of righteousness. 

Mr. Finley was trained to the business of a yarn 
merchant, in his native city. In the prosecution of 
this employment, he supplied himself with materials, 
by attending the fairs of the surrounding country, 
where the commodities in which he dealt, were exhi- 
bited for sale in great abundance and variety. On 
account of his superior ability and fidelity in his pro- 
fession, he was promoted to the ofiice of superinten- 
dent, and discharged the duties of inspector of the 
yarn factories in Glasgow and its vicinity. 

He became, very early, acquainted with the Rev. 
John Witherspoon, who was then an eminent minister 
of the Gospel, exercising his pastoral functions in the 
town of Paisley, about six miles distant from Glas- 
gow. So warm was his regard for Mr. Witherspoon, 
that he frequently left the church, to which he was 
attached, in his native city, and walked to Paisley, 
on Sabbath days, to attend the ministrations of his 
admired friend. His attachment to him became un- 
usually sincere and strong. He admired him as a 
preacher of the Gospel : he rejoiced at his efi*orts to 
restore pure Presbyterian government in the Church 
of Scotland : he sympathized with him in the strug- 
gles and persecutions he encountered in his attempts 
thus to set aside the corrupt and oppressive system 
of patronage^ which had been imposed upon the 
people. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 15 

Dr. Witherspoon warmly reciprocated the respect 
and affection of his pious and excellent friend. Af- 
ter accepting the Presidency of Princeton College, 
and emigrating to America, A. D. 1763, he invited 
him to come over and settle in the same place. Mr. 
Finley yielded to this solicitation, and with his wife, 
whose maiden name was Angres, landed at New York 
in 1769. At Princeton, the intercourse and familia- 
rity commenced in Scotland, were renewed, and con- 
tinued till terminated by the death of the illustrious 
President, A. D. 1794. In this village, Mr. Finley 
pursued with diligence and respectability the mecha- 
nical occupation of weaving, for which his employ- 
ment in Scotland seemed, in some measure, to qualify 
him. Here, also, he occupied for many years, the 
office of ruling elder in the Presbyterian church. He 
was an eminently pious and exemplary Christian. 
His faculties of mind, naturally strong and active, 
had been long and earnestly employed on the noblest 
subjects. His memory, strongly retentive, w^as richly 
stored with a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and 
of human life ; and his zeal and engagedness in reli- 
gion being uncommonly lively and uniform, he was 
truly an instructing and interesting companion, and a 
highly useful and valuable member of society. Many 
wise and good men sought his company and fre- 
quented his house to be edified by his intelligent and 
pious conversation, and to be animated in ways of 
piety, by his fervent prayers and glowing zeal. 

During the struggles of the American Colonies for 
liberty and independence, Mr. Finley manifested that 



IG BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

he had, indeed, adopted this as his country. He was 
a warm and decided advocate and supporter of the 
American Revolution. He was employed as clothier 
to a brigade of American troops, and held this office 
while the English were in possession of Princeton. 
He continued at home during this period, and had 
constant intercourse with several British officers who 
quartered in his house, without incurring the charge of 
indifference to the cause of the colonies, on the one hand, 
or making himself peculiarly obnoxious to the enemy, 
on the other. He suffered much in his temporal in- 
terests, in the result of this agency, by receiving 
almost the whole of his compensation, for revolution- 
ary services which he had rendered, and private 
moneys which he had expended, in the currency of 
the provinces, when it had sunk to almost nothing. 
This was peculiarly afflicting to him, inasmuch as by 
misfortunes in his native country, his pecuniary cir- 
cumstances had become much reduced and his pros- 
pects of reinstatement very dubious. 

While residing at Princeton, Mr. Finley corres- 
ponded for many years with David Dale, Esq.,'^ the 

* The following sketch of this distinguished and excellent man 
is taken from the Assembb/s 3Iissionari/ Magazine for the year 1806, 
page 341 : 

"Died at Glasgow, on the lUh current, in the 68th year of his 
age, David Dale, Esq., of Rosebank, late one of the magistrates of 
that city. The character of this good man comprehended in it so 
many points of excellence, that only an imperfect outline of it can 
here be given. He had not enjoyed the advantage of a polished 
or liberal education ; but this want was compensated by a large 
share of natural sagacity and sound sense, by an accurate and dis- 



BIOURAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 17 

honorable Bailiff of the district he had inhabited in 
Scotland. Epistolary intercourse with that distin- 
guished and excellent man, was continued after Mr. 
Finley's decease, by his son Robert. It is a subject 
of deep regret that the letters of this correspondence, 
very valuable and interesting on many accounts, can- 
not be obtained. 

Mr. Finley visited Dr. Witherspoon frequently and 
affectionately towards the close of his life, and at- 

criminating knowledge of human character, and by a modest and 
dignified simplicity of manner, which secured to him universal 
respect and attention. A zealous promoter of general industry 
and of the manufactures of his country, his schemes of business 
were extensive and liberal, conducted with singular prudence and 
perseverance, and, by the blessing of God, were crowned with such 
abundant success, as served to advance his rank in society and to 
furnish him with the means of that diffusive benevolence which 
rendered his life a public blessing, and shed a lustre on his charac- 
ter that has been but too rarely exemplified. Impelled by the 
powerful influence of that truth which he firmly believed and zeal- 
ously taught, constrained by the love, and animated by the exam- 
ple of his blessed Master, his ear was never shut to the cry of dis- 
tress. His private charities were boundless, and every public 
institution which had for its object the alleviation or prevention of 
human misery, in this world or the world to come, received from 
him the most liberal support and encouragement. For, while the 
leading object of his life was the diffusion of the light of truth in 
the earth, he gladly embraced every opportunity of becoming, like 
the patriarchs of old, ' eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame,' 
and of causing ' the widow's heart to sing for joy.' In private 
life, his conduct, actuated by the same principles, was equally ex- 
emplary ; for he was a kind parent, a generous friend, a wise 
and faithful counsellor, ' a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, 
sober, just, holy, temperate.' And noAV, having thus occupied his 
talents, he hath ' entered into the joy of his Lord. Mark the per- 
fect and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace.' " 

2=5= 



18 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

tended him with peculiar kindness and faithfulness as 
a friend, in his last sickness. Soon after the death 
of Dr. Witherspoon, he resolved to spend the residue 
of his days in the society of his sons, Robert and 
Alexander, and accordingly moved to Basking Ridge, 
the place of their abode. His age, his infirmity, his 
circumstances altogether had become such as to re- 
quire filial attention and kindness. And here, while 
this patriarchal friend of God received the respect and 
veneration of all around him, he enjoyed the most 
affectionate and faithful attention of his sons, resid- 
ing near him, and especially of his son Robert, whose 
circumstances enabled him to indulge all his filial 
fondness, by providing for his beloved and declining 
parent every thing necessary for his ease and com- 
fort. 

At Basking Ridge, Mr. Finley was elected a mem- 
ber of session, and faithfully discharged the duties of 
ruling elder in that congregation. His personal ap- 
pearance, his established reputation, his considerable 
knowledge, his ardent piety and unblemished deport- 
ment, all contributed to render him a peculiarly suit- 
able person to fill that station. He was tall, erect 
and slender — his features were strong and prominent 
— his head was whitened with years — his whole as- 
pect was peculiarly grave, dignified and solemn. 
These circumstances, associated with uncommon intel- 
ligence of mind and sanctity of character, gave great 
respectability and interest to his frequent perform- 
ances in the religious societies uniformly held, and in 
the occasional raeetino;s of the cono;re<]i;ation, in the 



BIOGRAPHY OP DR. FINLEY. 19 

absence of their pastor, where he generally assisted. 
His prayers, on these occasions, were remarkable 
for comprehensiveness, for weighty matter, and for 
profound devotion. 

When death appeared to be drawing near, he con- 
templated his dissolution with great calmness and 
satisfaction. On being asked, when apparently near 
his close, how he felt, he replied, "Just as I wish to 
feel!" When almost exhausted, he intimated a de- 
sire that all his relatives, in the vicinity, should be 
assembled around his bed, that he might take a last 
view of the only objects on earth which he considered 
dear to him, and commit them to God. And after 
being gently raised up by his son Robert, he cast his 
eyes complacently round upon the interesting group, 
and raising them towards heaven, feebly whispered 
"It is done," and sweetly expired, in the seventy- 
second year of his age, in the full and joyful hope 
of a glorious immortality through Jesus Christ. 

Such men are the salt of the earth ! the light of 
the world ! How happy to be a Christian ! How 
inestimable the privilege and blessing of being de- 
scended from such a parent ! 

Robert Finley was born at Princeton, New Jersey, 
A. D. 1772. He was very early instructed in the 
elements of the English language, and in his eighth 
year commenced the study of the Latin, in his native 
village. The salutary effects of early parental in- 
struction and care were soon discoverable in him. For 
a youth of his age, he was uncommonly grave and 
judicious in his deportment. After passing, in a 



20 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

short period, through the hands of a number of 
teachers, it was happily ordered that he should here 
become a pupil of Mr. Ashbel Green, the same gen- 
tlemen who was afterwards President of the College 
of New Jersey. At this period, Mr. Green was a stu- 
dent in college, and the studies of his class not being 
sufficient to occupy the whole of his attention, by the 
advice of Dr. Witherspoon, he spent half his time in 
teaching the grammar school, which was then under 
the doctor's superintendence. "While this arrange- 
ment contributed to increase the classical accuracy 
and general respectability of the youthful instructor, it 
had a tendency, no less happy, to advance the interest- 
ing pupil in his academic course, and to lay the foun- 
dation of that pre-eminence, in this important depart- 
ment of literature, to which he rose in after life. He 
was observed by his teacher to be a youth, consider- 
ing his age, of much more than ordinary stability of 
character, closeness of application, and penetration 
of mind. He was not satisfied, at this early period, 
with devoting the usual hours to study, but frequently, 
in leisure seasons, he waited on his teacher, in his 
private apartment, to obtain from him, more fully, 
the explanations and aids which he found necessary, 
to enable him successfully to prosecute his prescribed 
daily course. 

In the eleventh year of his age, he was admitted 
into the college as a member of the freshman class. 
Mr. Green having, at the commencement preceding, 
received his first degree in the liberal arts, and having 
been subsequently elected tutor in college, here again 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 21 

found -with pleasure, placed under his personal in- 
struction and management, the lad who had the year 
before been his pupil in the grammar school. In the 
sophomore class, during the year following, the same 
relation subsisted between this respectable teacher 
and promising scholar. The means and opportuni- 
ties thus enjoyed by Mr. Finley, to become thoroughly 
acquainted, with the Greek and Latin languages, 
which were the principal subjects of study in the two 
lower classes of college, were as good as could have 
been desired. And experience has abundantly proved, 
that he was an apt and successful student, making 
such improvement, as to reflect honor on his princi- 
pal instructor, and to secure the reputation of emi- 
nence in this branch of science. 

About the time of his entering the junior class in 
college, he gave evidence that God had visited him 
in mercy, and impressed his mind deeply with a sense 
of the importance of religion. It was even hoped by 
his fond and anxious friends, that he had experienced 
a gracious change, and passed from death unto life. 
Modest and distrustful, he did not view his spiritual 
state in so favorable and satisfactory a light as others 
did, with whom he conversed on this interesting sub- 
ject. He halted, and continued in painful suspense 
for a considerable time ; but God, having begun this 
good work, carried it on unto perfection. 

Although the mathematical, philosophical, and 
belles lettres studies, with which the junior and senior 
classes are chiefly occupied, were somewhat above the 
years and capacity of our young student, yet he ap- 



22 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

peared through the whole of his collegiate course, 
respectable for scholarship, as well as deportment : 
and he was admitted to the degree of bachelor of 
arts, by the trustees of the college at Princeton, in his 
sixteenth year. 

Having thus early finished the course of his educa- 
tion, a question of great importance was now to be 
decided ; how he should be employed. Dr. Wither- 
spoon, the friend of the father, was also the friend 
and adviser of the son. During the first winter after 
leaving college, Mr. Finley was employed, under the 
superintendence of the venerable president, as teacher 
of the grammar school. Here he began to manifest 
that peculiar talent for the government and instruc- 
tion of youth, which he afterwards exercised and dis- 
played, in several stations, in a manner so highly 
reputable to himself and useful to the public. 

A considerable number of the pupils, farther ad- 
vanced in years than the teacher, 'w^ere irregular and 
insubordinate in their temper and manners. Mr. 
Finley proceeded with energy to introduce order and 
establish discipline in the institution. The elder por- 
tion of the youth manifested a refractory temper, re- 
sisted his regulations, and, on being urged to comply, 
broke out into open rebellion, in hopes of intimida- 
ting the youthful instructor, and constraining him to 
connive at their idle and disorderly habits. He main- 
tained his authority with dignity and firmness, sus- 
pended the refractory, and referred their case to Dr. 
Witherspoon, under whose superintendence he acted, 
and under whose guardianship most of the young men 



BIOGRAPHY OF Ull. FiNLEY. l:o 

were placed. Dr. Witlierspoon, being informed of 
these circumstances, visited the school ; investigated 
the whole matter ; pronounced his full and decided 
approbation of the measures and conduct of Mr. Fin- 
ley ; established the influence of his young friend, by 
the whole weight of his own dignity and authority ; 
compelled the disorderly to make suitable acknow- 
ledgments, and to return submissively to their studies, 
under the very system against which they had re- 
volted. 

After some time spent in this employment, Mr. 
Finley was invited to take charge of a respectable 
seminary in the State of Maryland. With a view of 
complying with this invitation, he visited that State ; 
but Providence frowned upon this arrangement. Just 
as he reached the place of destination, the academy 
was destroyed by fire, and his prospect of employ- 
ment and usefulness there, entirely blasted. He re- 
turned immediately to his native place, and accepted 
an invitation to teach the academy at AUentown, 
New Jersey. The Presbyterian congregation exist- 
ing there, was then under the pastoral care of the 
Rev. Joseph Clark, through whose instrumentality 
Mr. Finley was obtained to teach the academy. 

Mr. Finley's mind had been very seriously exer- 
cised upon the subject of religion, already, more than 
two years. His impressions increased with his grow- 
ing age and maturity. During the time now spent 
in AUentown, his pious exercises and inquiries were 
brought, by Divine Grace, to a happy result. The se- 
rious public discourses and pious conversation of Mr. 



24 BIOGRAPHY OF I>R. FINLEY. 

Clark, were peculiarly blessed to his spiritual interest 
and comfort, so that now, in his seventeenth year, he 
entered into covenant with God, made a profession of 
his faith, and was admitted to commune with the 
church, in the Lord's Supper. 

While in this situation, he was solicited to under- 
take the business of instruction in the city of Charles- 
ton, South Carolina. Although he was young and 
inexperienced, the contemplated place of employment 
remote, the station conspicuous, and the labors ardu- 
ous, yet he yielded to the request, and ventured him- 
self into the society and service of strangers, trusting 
in the protection and care of his Almighty Friend. 
Here he was kindly received and entertained. His 
services at Charleston were highly acceptable to the 
public and honorable to himself. The acquaintances 
which he formed with families of distinction, and the 
attachments he conciliated during his residence in 
that city, were useful to him through life ; and, pro- 
bably, opened the way for his receiving, a few years 
before his death, a call to undertake the pastoral ser- 
vice, there, with a provision corresponding with the 
wealth and liberality of the southern people. He en- 
joyed the society o^nd kind attentions of several highly 
accomplished, pious and excellent families, who were 
heard to speak of his visits and conversation in terms 
of high approbation and satisfaction. The amiable, 
intelligent and heavenly-minded consort* of the Rev. 
Dr. Keith, of that city, took a deep interest in Mr. 

* Mrs. Keith Avas a daughter of the venerable Dr. James Sproat, 
of the eity of Phihidelphia. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FIXLEY. 25 

Finley, invited him very frequently and affectionately 
to her house, enjoyed much of his company, and bore 
a strong and pleasing testimony in favor of his good 
sense, great prudence, and humble piety, at this early 
period. 

A few extracts from a very brief diary, which he 
kept while teaching in the city of Charleston, un- 
questionably for his own exclusive use, will serve to 
confirm the estimate of his piety, made by his friends 
around him, and to illustrate further, his religious 
character at this time : 

"November 28th, 1791. — As I began school this 
morning in Charleston, after praising God for pre- 
serving mercy, I prayed for divine assistance in my 
whole duty ; for the spirit of grace and supplication ; 
for repentance and reformation : in the evening, for a 
blessing on the Church, and my Princeton friends in 
particular ; to be preserved from the corrupt notions 
and fashions of the world ; and to live altogether to 
the glory of God, in humility and godly sincerity. 

" 30th. — Rose between six and seven, thanked God 
for preserving mercy, prayed for the presence of the 
Lord through the day, for much of his love — after 
breakfast, for his direction in the business of the day 
— at noon, for the influences of the Holy Spirit, and 
for the church — for the same at night ; prayed for 
preparation for the table of the Lord ; for a blessing 
on the church, and the pardon of sin ; for protection ; 
for faith and humility ; for the prosperity of Zion, 
that I might live as a Christian. 
. " December 1st. — I got up after six and blessed 



2G lilU(jlKAPllY or DK. Fl>iLEY. 

God for liis mercy in preserving me through the night ; 
prayed to be guided by the Holy Spirit ; for help to 
discharge the duties of the day as becomes a Chris- 
tian : in the evening again I prayed for a blessing 
at the church and on the church ; for my absent 
friends ; that the Lord would forgive my sins and 
show me them forgiven, that I might praise him. 

" 9th. — This morning I returned thanks for the 
mercy of the night past ; prayed for much of the 
presence of God through the day. After breakfast, 
prayed for wisdom from above to direct me in all 
things. At noon, in the evening and at night, prayed 
that as I had resolved, if it should please the Lord, I 
would engage in the ministry, I might not be drawn 
from it by the world ; prayed for pardon and accep- 
tance through the blood of Jesus ; for the scholars, 
that they might be restrained from sin ; for boldness 
in the cause of Christ ; did at no time forget my ab- 
sent friends and the interest of Zion. 

" Jan. 1, 1792. — Being the beginning of the year, 
I confessed my sins and prayed for pardon. Li the 
morning was very unconcerned, but blessed be God 
my heart was somewhat warmed ; renewed engage- 
ments to be for the Lord. Pride struggling much in 
my heart about dress, I resolved to add nothing to 
it of superfluities, as powder, ruffles, nor to be running 
after the fashions, till the desire of them should arise 
from love to God — and if I dine out on the Sabbath,* 
I attend the worship of God. So help, oh ! Lord. 

^ Dining out rvt all on the Sal))j:ith day, may be thought inconsis- 
tent with religious duty, and in general, doubtless is so. But to form 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FTNLEY. 27 

" 2(1. — I rose about seven this morning, returned 
thanks for the mercy of the night past, prayed for 
the divine presence through the day, prayed six 
times to be cleansed from my sins, for all my friends 
that we might all grow in grace and be comforted by 
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 

" 3d. — This morning felt in a good frame of mind, 
but it did not continue — the world got possession ; 
wrote a letter to my brother and sister on the sub- 
ject of religion. 

" 4th. — This day I paid a visit to Mrs. Tennent, 
with whom I had some pleasant religious conversa- 
tion ; returned thanks for the mercy of the Lord in 
this respect. 

'' 5th. — This day had very much reason to com- 
plain of the absence of every holy affection, and that 
the world had taken so much possession of my whole 
soul ; prayed to be delivered from all this and to 
have my heart renewed and every heavenly grace 
implanted. Amen, Lord. 

" February 2d. — I prayed much to be prenared 

a just estimate of this resolution, it must be considered that Mr. 
Finley had no family, "whose good order might be interrupted by 
his absence, and that the families where he dined -were probably 
of a religious character, and the conversation with such friends 
would be at once pleasing and profitable : and that he here made 
it a fixed point that this social intercourse should not prevent his 
attendance on divine worship in the after part of the day. Proba- 
bly, longer experience and more reflection, would and may have 
changed the resolution into this — I will not dine out on the Sab- 
bath unless called to it, in the course of Divine Providence, by 
some peculiar and evident necessity or duty. 



28 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

for the celebration of the supper of tlie Lord, to have 
my sins forgiven and a comfortable assurance of my 
interest in Christ Jesus. But in the evening, through 
attachment to company, I very much neglected the 
time of prayer. 

" 3d. — Prayed to have my heart prepared for every 
duty ; but still there was much folly in me, and I got 
no comfort from the ^Yord of God. May the Lord 
have mercy on me ! 

" 4th. — I prayed this day much for the Holy Spirit 
of God to direct me, and to prepare me to sit at his 
table ; visited Mr. Hollingshead, and blessed be God, 
in conversation, enjoyed much satisfaction about re- 
ligion ; confessed my sins, unbelief, dislike to duty, 
wandering thoughts, hardness of heart, want of love 
to God, sinful passions, neglect of the Scriptures ; 
plead for pardon through Jesus ; laid my wants and 
necessities before the Lord, and prayed to have them 
supplied from his fullness. 

" 5th. — This day I sat to commemorate the dying 
love of Jesus at his table ; confessed my sins, and I 
trust had them forgiven, and had my heart somewhat 
inflamed with divine love, and felt desirous for the 
glory of God. Took comfort from Hebrews, * For ye 
are not come to Mount Sinai,' &c. The Lord was 
very merciful to me, and blessed be his name for- 
ever. Amen. 

" August 20, 1792. — I was somewhat earnest in 
prayer to-day, for the destruction of sin and for the 
quickening of languishing graces ; yet in the evening 
indulged lively and too many loose thoughts mingled 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 29 

with pious desires. Oh Lord, transform me into thine 



image. 



" 23d. — I went to society, and being there put to 
prayer, I was at a loss till the Lord gave me words, 
and he gave me just as I had need. 

" 2oth. — I attended upon religious duties with 
much pleasure to-day, and I hope with some profit. 

'^26. — I spent this Sabbath with much satisfac- 
tion, and in earnest prayer for my soul and for the 
kingdom ofZion: yet there was some folly mixed 
withal. Lord, I am vile. 

"2Tth. — I felt grateful to-day for mercies, but 
through much of it, religion was dull. Oh Lord, if 
not for thy mercy I am undone forever. 

" September 21st. — I spent this morning in read- 
ing and a form of prayer, but my mind was full of 
the world ; yet I trust I was a little strengthened 
by the morning sermon. The afternoon, however, 
would condemn me, had I never lived another. I 
was truly dreadfully stupid, unconcerned, and hard 
hearted. Nothing but free grace can save me. 

"22d, 23d, 24th. — These three days were much 
like all the rest of my life, full of sin and great in- 
iquity ; the spirit truly warring against the flesh, and 
the flesh against the spirit, and the latter with but 
too much success. 

" 26th. — This day w^as to me much more pleasant 
than yesterday. There were many seasons in which 
my soul cried out for God ; but my heart was full of 
anxiety and tossings, with respect to the world and 
my returning home. It pleased the Lord to bring 



3* 



oO BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

Mr. S to see me a few minutes, that my heart 

might be stirred." 

The preceding extracts from several successive 
months of Mr. Finley's diary, during the time spent 
at Charleston, manifest a deep, humble, and uniform 
sense of sin and guilt ; a constant and vigilant atten- 
tion to his inmost thoughts and exercises of mind ; a 
disposition to deny himself, and to resist the fashions 
and the allurements of the world ; a thorough per- 
suasion of entire dependence upon God for all good 
things, and ardent desires after his communion and 
likeness ; a spirit and habit of prayer and supplica- 
tion for personal sanctification, and for the prosperity 
of religion in the world. The whole is expressed in 
that simple manner which was natural to him. 



CHAPTER II. 

Returns to New Jersey — Commences the Study op Theology — 
Is MADE Tutor in Princeton College — Notes of his Diary 
there — Licensure to Preach — Ordination at Basking Ridge 
— His Marriage — Origin and Progress of his School — Imme- 
diate Benefit of his Ministry — An awakening experienced — 
Mr. Finley's account of this great work — His great efforts. 

Having resolved to devote himself to the service 
of God in the ministry of his Son, he became very 
desirous now of placing himself in a situation where 
he could more successfully prosecute the studies pre- 
paratory to that sacred office. For this purpose, in 
the autumn of 1792, he relinquished his lucrative 
and laborious station in Charleston ; returned to his 
native place ; resumed the instruction of the gram- 
mar school at Princeton ; and commenced the study 
of theology under the superintendence of the vener- 
able President* of Nassau Hall. His age and ma- 
turity, his classical accuracy and general improve- 
ment, had now become such that he advanced with 
uncommon facility and advantage in the course pre- 

* It was a happy circumstance in the order of Providence, that 
he was enabled to enjoy the instructions of Dr. "Witherspoon, a 
philosopher and divine, probably, inferior to no man, in regard to 
accurate, profound, and extensive views, on every subject of theol- 
ogy and ecclesiastical history, of civil government and liunian 
rights. 



32 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

scribed bj his judicious and distinguished theological 
instructor. 

Mr. Finley's peculiar capacity for the government 
and instruction of youth, having been rendered strik- 
ingly manifest, he was very soon transferred, with 
universal approbation, from the grammar school, to 
the office of tutor in college. This promotion was 
effected through the united influence of Dr. Wither- 
spoon, president of the college, and of the Rev. Dr. 
Samuel S. Smith, "^ vice-president, upon whom the 
chief management of the institution had devolved, in 
consequence of the advanced age and growing in- 
firmities of his illustrious father-in-law. In the ca- 
pacity of tutor, Mr. Finley continued some time, 
laboriously discharging the duties of that office, and 
closely applying himself to the several subjects and 
exercises assigned him, as a student of theology. In 
this arduous and responsible station, his vigilance 
and fidelity rendered him both popular and suc- 
cessful. 

Through the whole of this period, the realities of 
religion appear to have exercised a powerful influ- 
ence over his feelings and views. That the reader 
may judge of the state of his mind, a few extracts 
from his diary, which Avas continued at this time, will 
here be inserted. The record does not ascertain the 

* Mr. Finley -was frequently heard to speak, with peculiar satisfac- 
tion, of the important advantages he derived iu the latter part of 
his term of study, from the instruction and attention of Dr. Smith, 
who was then fast approaching the decline of his usefulness and 
splendor. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 33 

particular year in which it was written, but exhibits 
satisfactory internal evidence, that it was made while 
he was tutor in college. 

" September 1st. — This day was another Sabbath. 
It pleased God that I heard a sermon, from Psalm 
xc. 12 — ' Teach me so to number my days,' &c., 
which was the means of warming my affections, and 
raising my desires after God. I felt my misery, 
that I am so chained down, and so easily engaged in 
in every vanity and folly. 

" 2d. — I was engaged in hard study ; wrote part 
of a sermon, during which time my heart was warmed 
and engaged. Prayer seemed pleasant, and I fre- 
quently sent ejaculations ; conversed a while with 
Mr. H , and said to him what I could 

" 3d. — Was very much engaged in study, and also 
my mind was pleased in religious exercises, though I 
have it too much to lament, that I cannot love the 
Lord more, and serve him with a more animated zeal. 

"4th. — Thought early of God and religion this 
morning, even at rising. Studied hard, and with 
success, until breakfast ; shortly after, was shocked 
with a report that a young acquaintance, F. Stone, 
was hurried untimely to the tomb, by a contagious 
disease ;'^ which ought to have made me tremble ; at 

* This contagious disease was the velloAV fever, -which ai)peared 
in Philadelphia, for the first time, after a long interval, in August, 
1793. In the course of about three months, in that year, this 
dreadful disease swept off" nearly five thousand of the inhabitants 
of that city, was generally considered as extremely infectious, and 
spread the utmost alarm over the continent. In this year occurred 
the case to which Mr. Finlcy refers in his diary. Mr. F. Stone, a 



34 BIOGRAPHY or DR. FTNLEY. 

length, however, it set me to prayer, that my evi- 
dences might be brightened for eternity, and I pre- 
pared to go, if called. 

" 5th. — I pray often and earnestly to-day, that I 
might have my evidences brightened for eternity. A 
few of us met and united in prayer, that the destroy- 
ing angel might be stopped, and the plague arrested 
in its course, and that it might be well with me. 

" 6th, 8th. — My mind was much taken up with my 
prospects, these days. I thought it probable I should 
die immediately, and prayed earnestly that my views 
might be made clear for eternity. 

" 9th. — I was still anxious, lest I should be in- 
fected with this fatal disease, and I prayed earnestly 
that I might be prepared for death, whenever it 
should appear. 

" 10th, 11th. — I was by no means so much engaged 
these days, either in study or religion, being exceed- 
ingly hindered in my room by company. On Wed- 
nesday, however, I had a very serious and profitable 

conversation with Mr. C. S , and on the 11th, 

with Mr. R. Russell, upon the necessity of keeping 
close to our duty, wherever we may be, and dis- 
covering to each other the fallacy of our excuses, and 
the unreasonableness of our neo-lect, as it arises from 
want of resolution or from coldness. 

young gentleman from the South, who had been in the college, 
having been engaged in the study of the law in Philadelphia, 
during the prevalence of the fever, came on to Princeton, was 
taken ill, and soon died. The disease was then considered as a 
sort of plague, and several of the students had had intercourse with 
Mr. Stone in his illness, without being aware of the nature of his 
disease at the time. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FJNLEY. 85 

" 12tli. — This day was not a profitable clay to mc ; 
my mind was too much impressed with some of the 
affairs of life, so that I forgot our meeting on Thurs- 
day evening. 

" loth. — Was a pleasant day to me ; my mind was 
in a calm and heavenly state ; all seemed to be peace 
and harmony, and prayer was much my delight. 

" There was but little variation in the state of 

my mind ; and though I prayed earnestly at the times 
of prayer, yet my mind through the day was either 
engaged about the world, or possessed with a languor, 
•and too much stupidity. In the evening I retired 
with my friend, Mr. Russell, to the wood, where, how- 
ever, I did not enjoy much of the presence of God, 
as I fear. 

" My mind was anxiously engaged in the law- 
ful pursuits of the world, which, however, became un- 
lawful by excessive application, so that my mind seemed 
to forget that I was made for immortality. The cares 
of office engrossed much attention in the night. 

" It was a good day for me, and I was enabled 

to rejoice ; the sermon was blessed to me, in the eve- 
ning, and at society in college, I had engagedness of 
mind, and was enabled in some measure to forget the 
world, and desire to live unto the glory of God alone. 

" 19th. — My mind was still engaged in religion, 
though not so much as yesterday. I was perplexed 
and troubled about my business in the college. 

" 20th. — Was convicted to-day of calling on God 
only, or chiefly, when surrounded with trouble. My 
soul began to groan to return to its rest, but could do 



36 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

nothing more than groan ; could get no clearer views 
of the evil of sin, of the holiness of God, or of my 
own need of salvation. Felt a grievous loss, and 
knew it was the presence of the Lord, hut could not 
find my way to him again. 

" My heart was pained this morning, for the 

absence of Him alone who can comfort the soul : I 
was often engaged in prayer, but seemed not to feel ; 
hut in the afternoon, in conversation, my heart grew 
warm, and I enjoyed myself considerably. 

" This day being the Sabbath, I prayed that 

God would manifest himself unto his people ; that his 
power in converting souls might be felt ; prayed par- 
ticularly for those who had in any measure been 
awakened at Princeton lately ; that they might be 
brought on in the heavenly road. At sermon my 
thoughts were too much wandering. Prayed in the 
evening for the rising generation ; read an account 
of great conversions in New England, by which my 
heart was somewhat warmed. Blessed be the Lord." 

On the 16th day of September, A. D. 1794, and 
in the twenty-fourth year of his age, Mr. Finley was 
licensed to preach the Gospel, by the Presbytery of 
New Brunswick, under whose care he had prosecuted 
and completed his trial studies. He entered the min- 
istry at a suitable age, and commenced public life 
with some peculiar advantages. The business of 
teaching, to which he devoted so considerable a por- 
tion of time, after leaving college, was followed, im- 
mediately, by many important benefits, and produced 
results very useful to him through his whole life. His 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 37 

knowledge of human nature was by these means greatly 
enlarged ; his acquaintance with prominent characters 
and human life considerably extended ; his scholar- 
ship improved and illustrated ; his vigor of mind and 
habits of application strengthened ; a practical talent 
was thus early acquired ; and his whole character was 
in a considerable degree formed and established. 

Mr. Finley spent a few months after licensure, in 
preaching to the congregations within the bounds of 
the Presbytery of New Brunswick, and especially to 
those destitute of pastors. At the stated meeting of 
Presbytery, in April, 1795, the vacant congregation 
of Basking Ridge, which had shared his visits and 
services, through the preceding winter, presented a 
call for his pastoral labors, and urgently solicited him 
to undertake the work of the ministry among them. 
The call being found in due form, was put into the 
hands of Mr. Finley, who declared his acceptance of 
it. According to previous appointment, the Presby- 
tery met at Basking Ridge on the 16th day of June, 
1795, and on the following day, solemnly ordained 
him to the work of the Gospel ministry by prayer and 
the imposition of hands, and installed him pastor 
of that congregation. The ordination sermon was 
preached by the Rev. James F. Armstrong, the Rev. 
Gilbert T. Snowden presided in the laying on of the 
hands of the Presbytery ; and a solemn and impres- 
sive charge to the newly ordained pastor and to the 
congregation assembled, was delivered by the Rev. 
Joseph Clark. 

The congregation at Basking Ridge, embracing a 
- 4 



38 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

district of country about ten miles square, and quite 
thickly populated, presented a field for ministerial la- 
bors, extensive and arduous. But the pastor"^ whom 
they had chosen was adapted, in a peculiar manner, 
to their circumstances and character ; and the event 
proved that he was sent to them in " the fullness of 
the blessing of the Gospel." The congregation hav- 
ing been vacant for a considerable number of years, 
in consequence of unhappy dissensions which existed 
in its bosom, had experienced a great dearth of the 
word and ordinances of God, and become weary of 
their destitute and afflicted condition. This, together 
with a recollection, still lively in the minds of many, 
of the advantages formerly enjoyed, under the min- 
istry of the pious and venerable Mr. Kennedy, filled 
the hearts of the intelligent and reflecting people with 
great desire to enjoy again the stated means of grace. 
And considering the painful disagreement, and utter 
unsuccessfulness which had attended some former at- 
tempts to realize this great Christian privilege, it was 
esteemed a propitious circumstance, and a token of 

^ The following anecdote, which has been obligingly furnished, 
relates to a subject of great importance, and appears calculated to 
"be useful. For some time after Mr. Finley's settlement at Basking 
Ridge, he boarded with one of the members of the session of this 
church, who was a very serious and judicious man. " Mr. Finley 
arose very early one morning^ saddled his horse, and was just start- 
ing to attend some appointment, when the elder asked him if he 
was going before morning prayers. Mr. Finley said he believed so. 
The elder replied, he might stand in need of them before night. 
The reproof was seasonable. Mr. Finley returned and went to 
prayer, and often said, the admonition came sensibly home to him, 
and had an operating influence on his life." 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 39 

Divine approbation, that great unanimity and satis- 
faction prevaJled among this numerous people in the 
choice of a pastor which had now been made. His 
manner of preaching from the beginning was pecu- 
liarly plain and edifying, and in a considerable degree 
dignified and earnest. 

He commenced his ministry and continued in the 
practice of writing his sermons, until unexpected and 
frequent calls to preach and to perform pastoral ser- 
vice, compelled him gradually to dispense with this 
labor and at length to relinquish the use of written 
discourses altogether. The congregation manifested 
peculiar respect and attention to the character and 
ministry of their pastor ; and his labors were very 
soon followed by a visible improvement in the state 
of the church and in the manners of the people. 

In May, 1798, Mr. Finley was united in marriage 
to Miss Esther Caldwell, a daughter of the Rev. James 
Caldwell,"^ who was for twenty years the zealous and 
beloved pastor of the Presbyterian congregation at 
Elizabethtown, New Jersey. 

Soon after Mr. Finley's settlement at Basking 
Ridge, he was induced to undertake the instruction 
of a small number of boys, some of whom were to be 
prepared for business, the greater part for college. 
Thus was laid the foundation of a school, which be- 
ca,me permanent, and which for popularity, usefulness 
and real excellence during twenty years, it is believed, 
has been surpassed by no classical seminary on this 

* For a biographical view of this highly respectable minister of 
the Gospelj and his tragical end, see the close of the volume. 



40 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

continent. In the commencement of this business, 
Mr. Finley contemplated principally giving agreeable 
and useful employment to that portion of his time 
which he could spare from more sacred duties and the 
gratification of a few respectable individuals,* at whose 
request it was undertaken, without embracing in his 
view the extent to which it was carried or the length 
of time which it was continued. His small company 
of pupils, consisting of about ten, were taught at first 
for some time, in a part of his own dwelling house. 
After the room thus occupied became too small, a 
convenient building was erected by the neighborhood 
for the accommodation of the growing number of 
scholars, and after a few years, when the increased 
collection of students demanded still more room, a 
capacious and sightly edifice was built, in part at his 
own private expense, but principally by means of 
liberal contributions from a number of intelligent, 
wealthy and public-spirited gentlemen, residing in the 
city of New York. 

Several circumstances conduced to the success of 
this institution. It was put in operation at a time 
when grammar schools were less numerous in the 
State of New Jersey than at present. Mr. Finley 
admitted a considerable number of the youth into his 

* The most conspicuous of these gentlemen were Dr. Geoi'ge 
Logcan, of Germantown, Pennsylvania, who committed to Mi'. Fin- 
ley, at first two sons, afterwards a third; Col. John Bayard, of 
New Brunswick, who placed a grandson under his care ; Hon. 
Henry Southard, Mr. Alexander Kirkpatrick, Mr. Lindsly, and a 
few others, members of his congregation, who increased the number 
and importance of the school by adding to it, each a son. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 41 

OAvn family, near his person, and under his constant 
observation. From Mr. Kennedy's having superin- 
tended a similar institution, in the same place, the 
peojole had become sensible of the advantages of such 
an establishment to the neighborhood, and disposed 
to encourage the seminary, and to facilitate all its 
operations. The situation was esteemed healthful, 
and the terms of accommodation were made reason- 
able. In addition to these circumstances, Mr. Fin- 
ley's thorough experience and established reputation, 
as a teacher and disciplinarian, strongly attracted 
the public attention and confidence. The impression 
which he had recently made in Charleston, South 
Carolina, while teaching there, induced many wealthy 
and respectable citizens in tl^at region to entrust their 
children to his able instruction and faithful guardian- 
ship. 

From Virginia and Maryland, gentlemen of dis- 
tinction furnished him with many agreeable and pro- 
mising students. But in general, during its last years 
his school was composed of boys from the cities of 
New York and Philadelphia, and from his native 
State. The aggregate of scholars in this institution 
was often very great, for years in succession. The 
number of its pupils, originally restricted to twenty- 
five, sometimes exceeded forty. So far did the ap- 
plications for admission surpass the capacity for 
accommodation, that the institution might justly 
have been denominated a " select school." 

Mr. Finley superintended the institution with great 
fidelity, and personally inspected with vigilance all 

4* 



42 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

its ordinary operations from its first establishment till 
his removal* from Basking Ridge. 

It was his practice, for many years, to spend some 
hours, generally in the morning of every day, in the 
academy, directing the studies of the youth and assist- 
ing the tutor in all his labors. Being himself accom- 
plished as a scholar, energetic in all his movements, 
possessing a peculiar talent to forward boys rapidly 
in their course of improvement, and his assistants be- 
ing generally selected with great care, and promptly 
and assiduously taught to enter into his views and 
to follow his example, the plan of education pursued 
was calculated to make sound classical scholars, and 
to implant in the pupils' minds, principles and habits 
of subordination and good morals. 

On account of the acknowledged pre-eminence of 
his capacity for government, very untractable and 
turbulent youth were at times committed to his care, 

■^ The labors of his extensive pastoral charge ; his disposition 
for quiet uninterrupted study ; his agricultural predilection, and 
especially the trouble and anxiety to himself and family, arising 
from so much attention to the school — from the necessary respon- 
sibility to the public for its success, from participating in its daily 
instruction and care — and firom boarding a considerable number 
of the scholars, made him ardently wish at one period to withdraw 
from that charge. Accordingly, by his invitation and request, the 
management of the seminary was transferred to Mr. David Eng- 
lish, a gentleman of amiable manners and fine scholarship, who, 
for a few years, conducted the affairs of the institution in a very 
reputable manner. After Mr. English retired from this laborious 
occupation and returned to Georgetown, where he had before re- 
sided, the whole weight of the academic establishment devolved 
again on Mr, Finley. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 43 

for the purpose of reformation as well as of instruc- 
tion. This frequently afforded an opportunity, and 
created a necessity for the exertion of all his mas- 
terly powers. The insidious and artful could not 
escape his deep, persevering, and irresistible scru- 
tinies. The most hidden disorders and crimes, he 
would, by some means* detect and bring to light, 
often to the astonishment of the perpetrators. 

Nudavit, ca^cumque domus scelus omne, retexit. 

His disposition and manners towards the studious 
and amiable, were kind, condescending, and affec-. 
tionate beyond expression. He would sometimes 

■^ In one instance considerable mischief had been committed, at 
lyght, in the vicinity of the village. A small house had been 
stoned, some of its glass broken, and its inhabitants very much 
frightened. No charge was alleged against any particular indi- 
vidual. It was not even perfectly certain, that a student of the 
academy had been concerned in the transaction. Mr. Finley, how- 
ever, when informed of the circumstances, determined to ascertain 
who had perpetrated the deed. In a silent, and unobserved man- 
ner, and with much address, he made all possible search and con- 
tinued his investigation for several days. No evidence, direct or 
circumstantial, that Avould criminate any one, could he collect. 
Yet he thought he knew the characters of the citizens and of his 
students so well that he could tell who had done the mischief, and 
he resolved on this ground to pursue the following course. In the 
afternoon of a subsecjuent day he attended in the academy, and 
towards the close of the business of the day, passing near the boy 
he suspected, he stooped down and whispered in his ear — " If you 
go to-night and repair the damages done to that house the other 
evening, making proper acknowledgments to the people who live in 
it, nothing further will be done in the business." The fellow was 
perfectly amazed, made no reply, but as soon as the school was 
dismissed, performed what was demanded, and the affiiir was 
settled. 



44 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

enter into free and familiar conversation with them, 
on various common topics. In his walking excur- 
sions over his farm and through the contiguous parts 
of the congregation, he would invite some one or 
more of the youth, at leisure seasons, to accompany 
him. On the way, he sometimes exercised the ac- 
companying pupil, by proposing English sentences to 
be ' Latinized, or false Latin to be rectified. This 
kind of treatment was very useful to the scholar, and 
it attached him exceedingly to his teacher. But the 
idle, the insubordinate, and the vicious, he treated 
with rigor, sometimes amounting to real harshness 
and severity ; according to the good old Persian and 

classical system KTtav^acJt /xh ye xai rtar'fpfj iiotj Gui^po- 

avvrjv ixvjxavujvTaixdc Si8aaxa%oi rtaiacv aya^a ^a ^piata. 

His aspect was naturally stern and commanding ; 
and he could assume a countenance, voice, and man- 
ner truly terrific. He often presented himself to the 
indolent and refractory, with a dark and menacing 
contour — wxtt loixuti. It was his uniform determina- 
tion to accomplish what he attempted in regard to 
every youth committed to him, to make him a scholar 
and a good boy if practicable, in the most easy and 
agreeable manner, peaceably if possible, energeti- 
cally if necessary.* 

The general system of discipline he pursued, was 
enforced among the whole mass of the pupils with 

^ After a considerable exercise of discipline among the boys in 
the academy, at a certain time, 3Ir. Finley humorously observed 
to a friend — " They uill find out after all that I wont quite kill 
tlicm." 



BIOGRAPHi' OF DR. FINLEY. 45 

great uniformity and impartiality. No scholar was 
exempted from his regular duties, or permitted to 
pass without the just punishment of his offences, from 
foolish favoritii^m or low policy, nor were any pun- 
ished through caprice or passion. The government 
was not sometimes relaxed into injurious indulgence, 
and sometimes screwed up into ill-judged strictness, 
but conducted with a firm and steady hand. This 
impartiality and uniformity did not, however, pre- 
vent his employing a variety of methods to effect his 
purposes with the same or different individuals, at the 
same time, or at various periods. On the contrary, 
in answer to the question, " What ways do you make 
use of in your school ?" he once replied, " All ways, 
sir." By this reply he intended, no doubt, that he 
employed all the variety of methods which reflection 
suggested, or experience pointed out, and which his 
judgment approved, to spur on the indolent, check 
the presuming and subdue the refractory, to interest 
the dull, animate the desponding and encourage the 
timid, to awaken emulation, to cherish right disposi- 
tions and confirm good habits. He made use of great 
exertion and care to impart to his pupils correct ideas 
and impressions of morals and religion, and to render 
them judicious and orderly in their manners and de- 
portment. A determination to bestow particular 
attention on this branch of education, was manifested 
by him at an early period in the progress of his semi- 
nary. During the last ten years of its operation, 
more especially, he reduced his views and regulations 
on this subject to perfect system, and uniformly as- 



46 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

signed to the scholars at the close of the week, a reli- 
gious exercise to occupy their attention on the Sab- 
bath, and to be exhibited on the evening of the Lord's 
Day, or at the opening of school the next Monday- 
morning. The nature and extent of this religious 
study, varied with the age, improvement and capa- 
city of the pupil. Some were required to learn the 
catechism, but the greater part recited on prescribed 
portions of the Word of God.''' At the same time, 

* The facility, propriety and advantage with which the Bible 
may be introduced into academies and boarding-schools, both male 
and female, as a Sunday study to be recited Sabbath evenings or 
Monday mornings, are so obvious, that teachers, superintendents 
and trustees of all institutions of this kind, ought, without delay, 
to make this a fundamental regulation and indispensable obser- 
vance. The youth who assemble in these seminaries are those, in 
general, who are destined to fill high and influential stations in 
society, who, from their education, rank and employment, are likely 
to have a material agency in forming the opinions and regulating 
the manners of others, and of establishing, in a considerable de- 
gree, the general character of society. The plan commonly pur- 
sued in such institutions, of assigning, on Saturday, only the usual 
lesson for Monday morning, leaves the pupil at entire discretion, 
with regard to the subject which is to occupy his thoughts on the 
Sabbath, excepting only the short period to be spent at church. 
With far the greater part of youth, this is a certain and immense 
sacrifice of precious and sacred time. Taking into view the extent 
of the period usually spent in acquiring the elements of an educa- 
tion in any literary establishment, one lesson each week, on some 
chapters of the Bible, could not fail to secure to every scholar, of 
ordinary capacity and application, a most valuable acquaintance 
with biblical history and evangelic truth in general. What a vastly 
important addition is this to the instructions usually communicated 
in private and public seminaries ! When we consider, also, the 
moral improvement which ordinarily accompanies or proceeds from 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 47 

Mr. Finley watched and observed, as far as possible, 
the private conduct of his boys, and frequently took 
opportunities to counsel and direct such of them as ap- 
peared to him, not deserving of censure, but in need 
of paternal caution and advice in regard to their 
moral deportment. 

On the whole, this institution was highly respecta- 
ble, and very extensively useful. A considerable 
number of men from several States in the Union, 
who received the elements of their education in its 
bosom, are pursuing professional occupations, and 
filling distinguished stations in society, promising in- 
creasing honor to this seminary and to the name of 
its founder, rej)utation to themselves, and usefulness 
to their country. 

Important benefits began immediately to result 
from Mr. Finley's ministerial labors at Basking Ridge. 
Old divisions and animosities disappeared, and the 
people became of one heart and one mind. Habits 
of attending closely and seriously on the public and 
stated means of grace, were revived. The congrega- 
tion began to improve in Gospel knowledge and dis- 
cipline. Through the divine blessing, pleasing addi- 
tions were made to the church, from year to year. 
A general amelioration was visible in the whole as- 

the acquirement of sound Christian knowledge, how interesting 
does this subject become ! — how great and manifest the proba- 
ble advantage of pursuing this course ! — how pleasing the reflec- 
tion to a conscientious, faithful teacher, that while he is imparting 
to his pupils the elements of human science, he is furnishing them 
with the means of becoming, through the blessing of God, wise to 
salvation. 



48 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

pect of society. And a way appeared to have been 
prepared, through the superintending care and gra- 
cious influence of God, for that peculiar and joyful 
visitation of power and mercy "from the presence of 
the Lord," which was experienced there in the eighth 
year of Mr. Finley's ministry ; producing most pre- 
cious and lasting eifects among that people, and lively 
emotions of pleasure, through the church in general, 
in every part of our country. 

But although the foundation was undoubtedly thus 
laid for the important event which soon followed, 
there was nothing discoverable in the state of the 
congregation, immediately previous, that pointed out 
its near and glorious advent. A powerful and happy 
awakening and revival had been experienced, a short 
time preceding, in the congregation of Morristown, 
then under the pastoral care of the Rev. afterwards 
Dr. James Richards, without being attended with a 
simultaneous excitement in the adjacent congrega- 
tions or surrounding country. Indeed, notwithstand- 
ing the external attention and order which had been 
exhibited, and the salutary influence of the stated ad- 
ministration of the divine ordinances which had been 
witnessed there, it was manifest that the life and 
power of true piety were but little felt, and that reli- 
gion, in its essence and spirit, was at a low ebb. 
Coldness and indifierence appeared to have pervaded 
the church in general, throughout the whole State. 
In this district, however, one auspicious symptom ap- 
peared : while the church slumbered, her pastors were 
awake. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 49 

An association had been recently formed, more 
especially by the ministers of those congregations 
now embraced by the Presbytery of Jersey,* the ob- 
ject of which was to perform preaching tours through 
their respective congregations, in succession, by two 
or more ministers in company. This evangelizing 
system had been pursued for a number of weeks, and 
a considerable impression made, through the Divine 
blessing, on a neighboring congregation, when Mr. 
Finley, by invitation, participated in these labors of 
love, and was touched with a holy spark from heaven, 
which soon animated and enkindled a great propor- 
tion of the people of his charge. 

A brief representation of this revival,-\ which took 
place during the year 1803, was sent, by Mr. Finley, 
to the Committee of Missions of the General Assem- 
bly of the Presbyterian Church, in a letter addressed 
to the Rev. Dr. Ashbel Green, chairman of said com- 
mittee, and by them published in the General Assem- 
bly's "Missionary Magazine," vol. 1st, page 553. 
As the communication here referred to gives a cor- 

* This ecclesiastical body was originally called the Presbytery 
of New York. In October, 1809, that part of it which lay in the 
city of Xew York and its vicinity, was set ofi" by an act of the Sy- 
nod of New York and New Jersey, and constituted a new Presby- 
tery, with the name of the Presbytery of New York. The remain- 
ing- part, situated in the State of New Jersey, was permitted to 
retain the records, and to proceed as usual, under the new appel- 
lation of the Presbytery of Jersey. 

t The term revival is here used according to its ordinary accepta- 
tion, to signify an extensive out-pouring of the Divine Spirit, and 
a powerful awakening among sinners. 



60 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

rect, unadorned and solemn account of this impor- 
tant event in the Church of Christ, and as this maga- 
zine is not generally possessed through the country, 
it appears highly proper that this authentic and inter- 
esting detail should be inserted here at full length. 

" Extracts from a Letter received from the Rev. Robert Finley, at Basking 
Ridge, New Jersey, Dec. 23d, ISO-l. 

"When the present year commenced, it found us 
in a profound sleep, with regard to our everlasting 
concerns. All was still, nor was there a voice heard. 
The valley of the son of Hinnom was full of dry 
bones. Yet the day of deliverance was at hand, and 
at this midnight the cry was preparing, " the bride- 
groom Cometh, go ye out to meet him." The clergy 
of the Presbytery of New York, had now for a month 
or two been engaged in preaching from church to 
church, after the example of the Lord's disciples, who 
were sent out two by two. A serious attention to 
religion had also been excited in one of the adjoining 
churches. In the month of February I was invited 
by the Rev. Mr. Armstrong, pastor of the church at 
Mendham, to meet the brethren Avho were to visit his 
people about that time. I complied, and saw a large 
assembly eagerly bent on hearing the word of life. 
I saw no extraordinary appearances, and in my own 
soul felt no inward refreshings, I then learnt what 
I have felt much more sensibly since, " that it is not 
of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth," but 
" that every good and perfect gift cometh down from 
the Father of Lights." Being invited to unite in the 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 61 

exertions that were making by the clergy, in favor of 
religion, I gladly accepted, and met for the first time 
with the brethren, on the first Tuesday of February. 
The assembly to which they preached was neither 
large nor solemn. But while making an address on 
the expostulation of Jesus, " why stand ye here all 
the day idle," there was imparted to my soul a sen- 
sation and a view which I hope was worth the world. 
I knew not what it was, and hardly what it meant. 
It was a dark night, but it seemed like the beginning 
of the light of heaven. The returning day brought 
my heart again to the same subject. I felt like one 
who had been bewildered, and was just awakening to 
the hope of deliverance from the maze. Towards 
evening my feelings came to a point, and I began to 
think of the afflicted captives by the streams of Baby- 
lon. Their mighty attachment to the beloved city 
was understood, and its fallen walls were mourned 
over. The remainder of the week was spent in eager 
lockings for the Sabbath. When the Sabbath arrived, 
the day was stormy and tempestuous, so that new 
discouragements were excited. There had been many 
fine days and crowded assemblies, when there was no 
heart to speak, no agonizing desire to awaken and 
rescue men. And now, when the desire was intense, 
and the resolution superior to all fear of man, the 
people were kept at home. It was of Him whose 
counsels may not be challenged. Only about twenty 
persons attended the church. Of these about one- 
third were professors, and of the remainder there was 
not one who was not laid under solemn conviction of 



52 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

sin. It now brings to my remembrance the army of 
Gideon, which was reduced before it could gain the 
victory. The subject of discourse was that day, "the 
night is far spent, the day is at hand." How lite- 
rally true did the Lord nov,^ make it thus to be with 
regard to us. A good portion of the few of that day 
are now in union with the church, and none of them 
have turned back to folly as yet. that the gra- 
cious Lord would prevent the curse of Chorazin and 
Bethsaida from coming upon them ! The vibration 
of the stroke upon these few hearts, was more widely 
felt than could have been expected. On the evening 
following, there were about forty young persons 
assembled for their improvement in music. Their 
teacher did not attend ; and, under the awe of the 
preceding day, a few of them desired a discourse. It 
was given them from the words, " what is thy re- 
quest?" It appeared to be from the Lord, that the 
teacher did not come. Several persons were this 
evening awakened to a consideration of their ways ; 
and when they were dismissed, it was delightful to 
observe that they went away with remarkable deco- 
rum and solemn silence. It seemed as if every heart 
had received a portion, the nature of which was yet 
to be opened up. It was natural and agreeable to 
duty to keep these things to myself and ponder them 
well, to see if the Lord was in very deed in them. 
Nearly the whole who were present on that occasion, 
are now members of the church. 

" On Tuesday of this week, the Rev. Messrs. Kol- 
lock and Thompson, in their circuit, visited my church 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 53 

for the first time : and they appeared to be sent in 
the fullness of the blessing of the gospel. The people 
attended generally, and seemed as if they were in 
expectation that something of an interesting nature 
would take place. It has since been seen that im- 
pressions before made, were much deepened, and that 
various persons were newly awakened from their long 
sleep. The Lord had now prepared his means for 
producing a great and sudden sensibility, on the sub- 
jects of the soul and eternity. A few persons from 
Mendham, who were seriously seeking for eternal life, 
continued during Tuesday night in this vicinity, and 
next morning came to converse with the ministers at 
my house. As they approached, whoever beheld 
them, seemed to look upon them as persons that had 
received a call to prepare to meet their God. I was 
asked whether I would be willing to meet with a few 
that evening : being much indisj)osed, I declined. 
Notice notwithstanding was given of a meeting, and 
when, contrary to my expectation, I attended, judge 
of my joy and wonder, when I saw a large assembly 
in solemn and weeping silence. Wherever I turned 
my eyes, I observed anxiety and tears. The difficulty 
of beginning an address was only equalled by the 
difficulty of leaving off. A perfect silence was dif- 
fused throughout, till we were separating, when two 
young persons who w^ere particular for their intimacy, 
met each other from different parts of the house, and 
seeing their mutual situation, fell into each other's 
arms, with a momentary emotion, which was widely 
felt. It was now evident to all that there was much 



54 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

room for hope and prayer. We therefore appointed 
to meet on Friday of the next week, at the academy. 
You may suppose, sir, that the Sabbath was looked 
for with an ardent desire. It was one of the most 
stormy days I ever saw. Notwithstanding this, we 
had a considerable assembly, who resembled Mr. 
Bunyan's pilgrim, when putting his hands on his ears, 
he began to run, and cry "Life! life! eternal life !" 
In company with brother Richards, I took a preaching 
tour this week, (second week of February) and left 
my people until Friday morning. I had a most 
pleasant tour, though it was the severest weather we 
had this winter. In my absence, the almost instan- 
taneous death of one of my most respectable people, 
greatly increased the number and depth of the con- 
victions. A large assembly collected at his funeral, 
and the very silence that reigned, (for there was no 
service) seemed to be blessed by God to the further- 
ance of the work. The evening of the day on which 
I returned, was our first regular meeting for prayer. 
The report had by this time spread through the 
congregation that there was a serious awakening in the 
neighborhood of the church; so that notwithstanding 
the darkness of the night and badness of travelling, 
there was a large assembly. A discourse was preached 
without any thing remarkable, except a very fixed 
attention. When the general round of exercises was 
gone through, it was made known that any who wished 
might depart, but that a few words would be addressed 
to those who were supposed to be awakened by the 
Holy Spirit. No one departed. An address w^as 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 55 

then made, as above mentioned. "When the awakened 
being summoned "to come out and separate," there 
was, in the twinkling of an eye, a suppressed cry 
from, 'it is supposed, not less than fifty persons. That 
I may be understood, I mean by a suppressed cry, a 
cry resembling that which weeping children utter, 
when they are forbidden to weep aloud. I leave you, 
my dear friend, to conceive the sensations that must 
have been awakened, in a case like this, in the bosom 
of a minister. Absorbed and lost in wonder, joy and 
praise, we forgot the time, and passed the hour gene- 
rally prescribed by prudence. The first thought of 
passing time presented us with the hour of eleven. 
This is a solitary instance ; and whether under these 
circumstances, it can be excused or not, I cannot tell. 
But of this I am certain ; it was a night to be remem- 
bered among a thousand. It might be counted upon 
as certain, that in the space of twelve days, from the 
first Sabbath till now, one hundred persons wer^ 
• brought under deep convictions. 

" On the next Sabbath, each neighborhood was 
desired to institute societies for prayer ; and four or 
five of them were attended each week with preaching. 
" On the third week of February, there was nothing 
remarkable till Friday evening, in a distant part 
of the congregation, where there was weeping and 
lamentation which threatened disorder. It was occa- 
sioned by the accidental collection of a number of 
those most afi"ected into one corner of the house. By 
advice it was immediately reduced to silence. This 
was a time of amazement to many hard and wicked 



66 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

persons, and it then seemed as if they woukl all bow 
with one accord. But while men slept, an enemy was 
permitted to sow tares, and for a season the heavenly 
plant was choked. In other distant parts of the 
congregation there did not promise any thing of a 
harvest for some time. It might have been two 
months, which brings us to the month of May, before 
the work appeared in a powerful and general manner, 
in the southern part of the congregation. It then 
appeared tb seize on nearly every heart. About this 
time I saw the only bodily affection (as it is called) 
that ever came under my observation. It was a case 
of a young woman who might be classed with the 
Gallios in religion. During the greater part of 
the discourse, she appeared utterly unconcerned. 
Towards the close, her countenance changed and fell 
visibly, and in a moment. . She began to pant like 
one asthmatic, shed for a minute a flood of tears, and 
*^Yhen these were stayed, the panting increased, and 
she seemed to approach to suffocation. Her hands* 
were cold and considerably convulsed. Without the 
least confusion she was removed into another room, 
where she was nearly alone, and where she could 
hear, for she was unwilling to be taken from the house. 
I have been more particular on this last point, because 
it is probable some misrepresentations have been made. 
About midsummer, a similar solemnity began to ap- 
pear in the western part of the congregation; and 
also in that part where it was mentioned the tares 
were sown, there was a precious and most acceptable 
reviving. In every quarter had there now been a 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. f)/ 

truly heavenly shower, excepting in the east. There 
were droppings indeed as from the skirts of a majestic 
cloud, which lightened on some few of the most dark- 
ened and malignant, and a sure hope enlightened and 
sweetened their souls. 

" When we were almost in despair of this portion 
of our dear people, about the month of November we 
were animated with a delightful prospect. On a cer- 
tain evening very dark and rainy, not more than forty 
persons attended. But so far as information has been 
obtained,^there scarcely was an individual who was 
not greatly affected, either with joy or anxiety. Some 
very hardened persons wept bitterly, and some very 
young persons were tenderly moved. The renewal of 
something like this has been very refreshing in the 
same place since that time, from which we are looking 
with humble hope for a little harvest. It had often 
seemed to me almost the sole cause of a minister's 
grief, that men could not be made to awake. But 
now, when there were so many excited to a serious 
consideration, there was an anxiety called up in my 
mind which had been unknown before. While the 
immortal soul stood hesitating between life and death, 
and there was a jeopardy every hour, lest temptation 
should prevail, or death close all opportunity, you 
may well suppose they were viewed with an earnest 
eye. Every human excitement was put before the 
heart; but experience gave evidence that conversion 
was no less a work of God^than conviction. There 
were none who were made to taste very speedily of 
the joy of their Lord. In about five or six weeks, 



58 BIOGRAPHY or DR. FINLEY. 

however, there were some who began to hope that the 
Lord had graciously revealed himself to them. But 
these soon lost their hope, and were plunged more 
deeply than ever into sorrow, and overwhelmed more 
than before, with a sense of their sin and helplessness. 
Those who continued longer before obtaining faith 
and.hope in the mercy of God, appeared more steady 
from the beginning of their joy. Yet the former did, 
for the most part, recover again and stand more firmly 
than at first. In the course of four months we received 
into the communion of the church, with mixed joy 
and fear, sixty-four persons. Others continued a 
longer or a shorter period, as it pleased Him who is 
the truth and the life. I was happy beyond expres- 
sion, when constantly mingling with the people, to 
find here and there springing up new plants of our 
heavenly Father's planting. 

"In the month of October the church again opened 
her joyful bosom and admitted fify-six more to its 
communion. In the manner of conviction there was 
but little variety. The general grief was sin, and 
particularly the sin of forgetting God. The Lord 
brought to their remembrance his own expostulation, 
"If I be a father, where is mine honor?" — Grief for 
this sin seemed to be augmented from finding that by 
nature their hearts loved idols : they were still inclined 
to follow them. Thus were they taught, we hope, 
that conversion was necessary, and that it must come 
from God. The Lord was very gracious in this, that 
though the conviction was very sharp with many, yet 
I have met with no instance that bordered on despair. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 59 

When the Lord had said, "thou hast destroyed thy- 
self," he seemed to add, "but in me is thy help 
found." As the manner of conviction bore a strong 
affinity in nearly all ; so their manner of expressing 
their hopes of acceptance with God, had a very great 
uniformity. There were a very few who in the hour 
of deliverance, felt such a remarkable animation of 
the pleasing and dutiful dispositions of the heart, that 
they seemed to rest too much on the change of their 
feelings and less on the great atonement. And there 
was one and only one instance, of a person whose 
experience was of the visionary kind. While the 
greater part were humbled through a sense of their 
fallen and helpless state, and looked to Him who was 
lifted up to take away the sins of the world ; it was 
truly refreshing, and even establishing to the seeking 
soul, to hear with what clearness some, who had been 
utterly ignorant of religion, now spoke of Christ, as 
the wisdom and pov/er of God to every one that 
believeth. I have seen no instance of raptures, but 
have seen a great many solid comforts, which were 
truly delightful to behold. 

" I have already given some intimation of the 
number who were affected with a solemn view of the 
interests of the soul. It has been mentioned that a 
hundred and twenty had been added to the commu- 
nion of the Church. About forty others have ex- 
pressed a belief that they are builded upon the Rock 
of Ages. In addition to these a large number were 
awakened to some serious concern ; in all, probably 
not less three hundred persons of all ages, sexes, and 



60 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

descriptions. "VYe had reason to hope that an aged 
man, after he had lived considerably above eighty 
years, was received into the divine favor in the last 
month of his life. And what perhaps may be men- 
tioned properly in this place, near the close of the 
work, there were four persons awakened on one Sab- 
bath, each nearly seventy years of age. The serious- 
ness among little children was also very extensive, 
and though no encouragement whatever was given to 
do so, it was admirable to hear them telling of the 
light of the Scriptures ; and of their fear to go to 
sleep lest they should lose their delightful views of 
heavenly things. The number of new convictions is 
now but very small ; but that of those who hereto- 
fore had been roused to consideration and are from 
time to time led to the waters of healing, is comfort- 
ably great. Blessed be God, as yet we have had 
nothing to lament as to the unbecoming walk of any. 
"We have now a goodly flock, but already it begins 
to scatter. Nearly a dozen have removed ; one or 
two have died — so that in a few years we shall stand 
in the same need as ever of a summer and a harvest. 
Oh ! if the Lord may look on us and keep us as the 
apple of his eye, and be ever ready to renew the 
happy year, which in free and rich grace is now given 
to us ! 

" Thus, sir, I have traced a few of those events 
which have taken place among us, and if the relation 
shall be any satisfaction to you, it will be a pleasure 
to one, Avho is happy to say how respectfully and 
aftectionately he is yours. 

'^KOBERT FINLEY." 



BIOGRAPHY OF 1)K. FINLEY. 61 

In this memorable and precious season, the refresh- 
ing influences of the Holy Spirit, were experienced, 
first in the pastor's own heart. But the set time, to 
favor this portion of Zion, had come, and the quick- 
ening impulse soon became very powerful and very 
extensive. Through the whole of this gracious dis- 
pensation to that church, the pastor manifested a 
degree of excitement, fervor, and joy, which fully 
corresponded with the most powerful and lively 
operations of divine grace, displayed around him. 
He gave himself wholly up to God, in this great 
work, as an instrument to increase its efficacy and to 
magnify its glory, x^^ll the powers of his nature 
were roused to action, and engaged in his Master's 
and in his peoples' service. He allowed himself 
time scarcely sufficient for necessary refreshment. 
He visited, he preached, he taught, he warned, he 
prayed daily from house to house with aff*ectionate 
importunity and flowing tears. He flew with ra- 
pidity to every quarter of his extensive congregation, 
laboring by day and by night to awaken the thought- 
less and unmoved out of their perilous and afflicting 
sleep. In his public discourses, he spake with a de- 
gree of earnestness and vehemence truly astonish- 
ing, almost more than human. His great zeal and 
corresponding eff'orts within his own congregation, 
where the same earnestness abounded, created no 
emotions but those of sober admiration, deep con- 
cern, and profound satisfaction. In his occasional 
ministrations, in neighboring congregations where 
the professors of religion remained formal and luke- 
(3 



62 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

warm, and where the people in general felt very little 
interest in these eternal concerns, his zeal appeared 
to some immoderate and his manner extravagant. In 
their cold and lifeless state they could not enter into 
his views, nor keep pace with his feelings. Hence 
some accounted his unusual warmth and extraordinary 
exertions enthusiastic. In this they exposed their 
own Laodicean temper and excited his tender pity. 

The " view" with which he was visited in the com- 
mencement of this revival, and the renewed impulse 
which he now received from above, in his gospel mi- 
nistry, produced in him effects the most permanent 
and happy. They seemed to animate, direct, and 
characterize all his subsequent life, in public and in 
private. It became manifest that the high tone of 
religious feeling and uncommon ardor in exertion, 
for which Mr. Finley was remarkable, perhaps some- 
what singular, especially during this work of grace 
among his people, did not spring from a transient 
excitement of the passions, but were produced by a 
clear and lasting discovery of the vast and eternal 
obligations and interests here involved, accompanied 
by a rational and sincere regard for the divine glory, 
and an ardent desire for the salvation of souls. This 
visitation of mercy produced an addition to the com- 
munion of the church at Basking Ridge, of one hun- 
dred and thirty-two members. 

The success with which God was pleased thus 
early to crown his ministrations, contributed in a 
great degree to place him in a conspicuous light 
before the public, and to establish his reputation in 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 63 

the church as an able, faithful, and successful minis- 
ter of the New Testament. The world judged cor- 
rectly, that they, whom God so signally honors, 'in 
making them the favored instruments of doing so 
much good to others, deserve peculiar reverence and 
honor from men. 

After this season had subsided, and new instances 
of awakening and conversion became comparatively 
rare, many precious fruits of the revival continued 
to be experienced among that people. In the ensu- 
ing year, thirty souls were added to the church, who 
for the most part were considered as gleanings of th% 
preceding harvest. The pastor devoted himself, with 
great diligence and perseverance, to the interests of 
his flock. Praying societies, which had been insti- 
tuted while the excitement continued, and conducted 
without his presence and aid, he now fostered as nur- 
series of piety, and as the hope of the church. He 
watched over new professors, and especially the 
young converts, with parental vigilance and fidelity. 
The poor, the unfortunate, and the afflicted of Christ's 
family shared his peculiar sympathy and kindness. 
He took great pains to search out and become par- 
ticularly acquainted with those who were in depen- 
dent circumstances, exposed to difficulties, inconve- 
niently situated for attending on the public worship 
of God, and surrounded by corrupt and dangerous 
society. To them he extended the best and speediest 
relief in his power. In several instances he incurred 
considerable expense in procuring, in the condition 
of such, the changes and ameliorations which he 
thought necessary. 



CHAPTER III. 

Mr. Finley's exertions to retain the Bible as a school book — 
Is elected a Trustee of Princeton College — A new excite- 
ment in his Parish — Appointed to preach the missionary 
sermon before the General Assembly — Appointed as a dele- 
gate to the General Association of Connecticut — A very 

INTERESTING SCENE AT BaSKING RiDGE — Mr. FiNLEY LABORS IN 

Sussex County and other places — He and Rev. Geo. S. "VVood- 

HULL ORIGINATE THE BiBLE ClASS SYSTEM IN ChURCHES DoiNGS 

OF Presbyterian Synod — General Assembly in regard to it — 
He introduces it into his Parish — Divine Blessing follows 
— Youth awakened. 

About this period, prejudice against using the 

Bible as a school book, began to manifest itself, and 

to prevail in some parts of this country. Many of 

the ignorant and unprincipled teachers, Tvho were 

then in numerous instances employed, especially in 

country places,* entertained and propagated this 

unhappy delusion. 

* The teacher employed at that time in the village of Baskiug 
Ridge, was strongly opposed to introducing the Bible as a school 
book. "WTien Mr. Finley called to recommend the measure, he 
found him obstinate on the subject, disposed to argue, cavil and 
resist. After making some gentle attempts to induce his compli- 
ance, without perceiving a disposition to yield, Mr. Finley addressed 
him in substance as follows : " Sir, my mind is made up on the 
subject; you knoAv my wish; I have no objection to you as a 
teacher on any other ground ; but if you don't comply immediately 
on this point, prepare your accounts, and collect your money ; for 
you sha'nt be here a week." That argument had the desired effect 
at once. 



BIOGRAPHY OP DR. FTNLEY. 65 

Mr. Finley exerted all his zeal and influence to 
retain the Bible, and to introduce it to daily use, in 
all the schools of the surrounding country. Under 
a deep persuasion, that children and youth cannot 
become too early and familiarly acquainted with the 
word of God, he devoted himself to this interesting 
object, till he saw it completely attained. He paid 
considerable attention also, to the characters and quali- 
fications of the teachers employed in the schools of 
his congregation, and endeavored to impress the 
minds of the people with a sense of the necessity and 
importance of exercising prudent care and caution, 
in engaging instructors for their children. 

During several succeeding years, the congregation 
enjoyed no extraordinary effusion of the Holy Spirit, 
but rather exhibited an interesting state of peace, 
order, and gradual improvement in divine knowledge 
and grace. Small additions were uniformly made to 
the church, of such as gave evidence of a gracious 
change, and entertained a hope of salvation, through 
faith in Christ. The elders of the church, hand in 
hand with their pastor, as the records of their trans- 
actions evince, exercised the utmost watchfulness and 
care over the flock, admonishing, exhorting, reproving, 
with all gentleness and long suffering. Considering 
the great increase in the number of professing Chris- 
tians, that had been recently made, instances of 
backsliding and apostacy were unusually rare in that 
church. 

In the year 1806, Mr. Finley was elected a mem- 
ber of the Board of Trustees of the College of New 

6* 



66 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

Jersey. This was considered by the public as a very 
honorable testimony of his growing respectability and 
merit. Liberal and public spirited in all his views 
and operations, a friend and patron of science and 
general improvement, and warmly attached and de- 
voted to the interests of this college, as his alma 
mater, the fountain at which he had imbibed the 
streams of knowledge and of religion ; he discharged 
the duties of this responsible station with the utmost 
constancy and faithfulness, till his removal from New 
Jersey. 

In the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and 
eight, his ministerial labors at Basking Ridge were 
attended again with more than ordinary effect. The 
congregation in general were excited to more diligent 
and serious attention to the preaching of God's word 
and administration of his ordinances, than had been 
witnessed for several former years. The increase of 
attention among sinners was so considerable, and the 
divine influence communicated to Christians so mani- 
fest, as to warrant the distinguishing appellation of 
a revival of religion ; and this era ought to be viewed 
as much more than ordinarily interesting and prosper- 
ous, in the annals of that church. For, in the course 
of this year, about twenty persons were added to the 
communion, on professing their faith in Christ ; and 
the numerous body of Christians, composing the 
church, were greatly animated and comforted in the 
divine life. 

In the year eighteen hundred and nine, Mr. Finley 
was selected to preach the missionary sermon during 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 67 

the meeting of the General Assembly, in the city of 
Philadelphia. This service he performed with credit 
to himself, and satisfaction to the audience. He 
received the thanks of the Assembly, for the zealous 
effort he had made to promote the missionary cause. 
His modesty induced him to decline furnishing a copy 
of this discourse for publication, notwithstanding this 
practice had been observed, with very few deviations, 
for many preceding years. 

In the same year he was appointed by the General 
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, in connection 
with the Rev. Messrs. John B. Romeyn and Edward 
D. Griffin, "to attend the next meeting of the Gene- 
ral Association of Connecticut." As a member of 
this respectable delegation, Mr. Finley discharged his 
duty faithfully and acceptably. His interview with 
the Eastern brethren whom he met in that association, 
gave him great satisfaction ; and the travel to Con- 
necticut was greatly serviceable to his health, at that 
time somewhat impaired. 

The year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
and twelve, which was the seventeenth year of Mr. 
Finley's ministry, presented another very interesting 
and blessed scene in the congregation at Basking 
Ridge. It pleased God ■ at this time, to repeat his 
gracious visit to that people, and to grant a precious 
and renewed manifestation of his presence, and exer- 
cise of his power and mercy on the hearts of a 
considerable number, of all ages and characters. 
The devout and heavenly minded pastor, shared 
sweetly and copiously the divine influences, shed 



68 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

down at this period, upon that portion of Zion. His 
soul was enkindled afresh in his Master's service; 
and his powers were stirred up and engaged, to 
improve the propitious season which seemed to be 
opening again upon the people of his charge. Trained 
by a former dispensation of the King of Zion, to the 
glorious service of conducting a triumph of grace, 
among the guilt}^ and rebellious sons of men, and 
called, as he humbly hoped, at this time, to a similar 
work, on a more extended scale, he came forward as 
a good soldier of the Captain of salvation, and de- 
voted all his skill, strength and ardor to the cause. 
But Paul may plant and Apollos water, it is God 
who giveth the increase. This visit of the Heavenly 
Father, appeared from the result, to have been 
designed, in a considerable degree, for the improve- 
ment and consolation of his own dear people, the 
subjects of his former works of grace. They needed 
quickening and encouragement in the Christian course, 
'and the hearts of many that doubted and feared, were 
animated and established in the faith and hope of the 
gospel; some that were broken and contrite, that 
languished and fainted, were revived and invigorated ; 
some that hungered and thirsted, were abundantly 
satisfied and filled with gladness, in this time of 
refreshing from the presence of the Lord. While the 
professing people of God were deeply humbled, excited 
to fervent supplication, and brought solemnly to search 
and try their own hearts, and renewedly to accept 
the Saviour and enter the gospel refuge ; many trem- 
bling sinners were found, anxiously '' inquiring what 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 69 

they should do to be saved." Meetings for prayer 
and pious conversation, were frequent and crowded. 
Many solemn and weeping assemblies, by day and at 
night, with fixed attention and deathlike silence, heard 
the awakening and cheering messages of truth and 
mercy, from the lips of their beloved and evangelic 
pastor. The number of souls gathered in to Christ 
at this time, was small,* compared with the fruits of 
a former revival, and with the desires and hopes 
entertained on this occasion, and considering how 
extensively solemn convictions appeared to prevail 
through the congregation in the progress of this 
gracious work. 

While Mr. Finley was thus laboring ardently and 
successfully for the promotion of true religion within 
his own congregational charge, the interests and pros- 
perity of the Church in general lay near his heart. 
His local situation rendered it more convenient for 
him than it was for any other principal member of 
the presbytery of New Brunswick to visit that por- 
tion of the church, under the care of this presbytery, 
in the county of Sussex, now embraced by the pres- 
bytery of Newton, t in which several important con- 
gregations were wholly vacant, and others painfully 
agitated with dissentions and animosities. Animated 

* About thirty-five. 

f The district of the church, here referred to, was set off from 
the presbytery of New Brunswick, and erected into a distinct pres- 
bytery bearing the name of the " Presb}i;ery of Newton/' by an act 
of the Synod of New York and New Jersey, at their last meeting 
in October eighteen hundred and seventeen. 



70 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FIN LEY. 

by zeal for the general interests of Zion, and excited 
by a sincere concern for the destitute state of this 
region, in the Church, he frequently visited it — some- 
times spontaneously, oftener at the invitation of some 
vacant congregation, or request of some contending 
parties — most frequently by the appointment of the 
presbytery, who were always pleased to avail them- 
selves of his services, especially on important occa- 
sions. His capacity for managing diflScult and criti- 
cal business was remarkable and well known. He was 
an acute discerner of the ends and springs of action, 
in every character ; he possessed an uncommon share 
of judgment and prudence ; he was calm and dispas- 
sionate, in a very high degree ; he was fair, frank, 
and honest in his address ; he was firm and immove- 
able in his adherence to justice and fairness on every 
subject ; he was meek and submissive, patient and 
persevering ; and he was a peculiar lover of peace 
and harmony."^ Added to this, he had a more ac- 

* In the course of these visits, Mr. Fiuley had the misfortune to 
incur the displeasure of a brother clergyman, of some standing in 
the Church. The offended person had manifested his displeasure 
for some time very decidedly and openly, so as to attract public 
notice, when an opportunity was unexpectedly afforded Mr. Finley 
to manifest one of the most excellent dispositions of his heart. 
The presbytery of New Brunswick had just adjourned and were 
about separating, when some circumstance drew the clergyman 
referred to, into a room where Mr. Finley and two or three other 
persons were sitting. Mr. Finley immediately rose from his seat, 
addressed the gentleman in a friendly manner, and proceeded 
calmly to inquire itito the cause of the coolness and neglect which 
he had for some time manifested towards him. The gentleman 
making no reply, and showing a disposition to withdraw, Mr. Fin- 



i 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 71 

curate personal knowledge of the churches there 
than any other man of his standing in the presby- 
tery. Hence he was selected in many instances as 
the most suitable character to go to that region of 
the Church, to supply vacant congregations, to admi- 
nister the ordinances of the Gospel, and to heal divi- 
sions among them. He promptly complied, in every 
instance, when his circumstances and engagements at 
home would at all permit. Nay, he acted on the 
principle, that personal and domestic sacrifices must 
be made for the sake of discharging faithfully public 
duty. He cheerfully rendered his services and ar- 
dently exerted all his influence, to accomplish the 
purposes for which he was sent in these successive 
tours. He had considerable influence and agency in 
organizing and bringing into the Presbyterian, con- 
nection, several important and growing congrega- 

ley pressed him still farther in the following words : — " Sir, I am 
a friend of peace. I feel that there is a peculiar impropriety in 
our living in this manner — it must not be so. If I have injured 
you, tell me wherein, and I will make you any acknowledgment 
or reparation in my power this moment, and take pleasure in do- 
ing it.'' The gentleman hesitated, appeared sour and unyielding — 
Mr. Finley proceeded : " Well, sir, I can do no more than this," 
laying his hand upon his naked breast, " I solemnly declare that I 
am unconscious of having ever designedly or inadvertently done 
you an injury ; but if you will only be reconciled and give me 
your hand in friendship, I will get down upon my knees and ask 
your pardon." The gentleman made no reply, turned about, and 
left the room. Mr. Finley some time after observed, that subse- 
quently to the above occurrence, he had frequently attempted to 
court and conciliate this gentleman, but that all his advances and 
efforts had met with a similar repulse. 



72 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

tions. And on the whole, he performed many ardu- 
ous and successful services for the churches in Sussex, 
the benefits of which will long be felt and remem- 
bered by those congregations. 

While Mr. Finley was so unremittingly engaged in 
endeavoring to promote religion in his own charge, 
and so zealously devoted to the interests of some por- 
tions of the Church which lay within the reach of 
his own personal ministrations, he was also deeply 
occupied in devising and maturing schemes of the 
most extensive importance and utility. One ecclesi- 
astical measure in which he had a principal agency, 
is too important not to be particularly noticed in 
these memoirs. I mean the system for instructing 
youth in the knowledge of the Bible, by classes. The 
plan originated* in the presbytery of New Bruns- 
wick, at the semi-annual meeting, in October, 1815. 

* Justice requires it to be distinctly stated that the idea of 
making this method of instructing j'outh general through the 
Church, and of taking presbyterial order on the subject, was first 
suggested by the Rev. George S. Woodhull, of Cranbury, New- 
Jersey. A few individual pastors, in the Presbyterian Church, it 
has been ascertained on inquiry, had previously made some at- 
tempts, in their respective congregations, to introduce this mode 
of instruction, but, it is believed, without any view to its becoming 
an established system in the Presbyterian Church. This happy 
thought first occurred to Mr. Woodhull, and as soon as suggested, 
was seized with avidity by Mr. Finley. These gentlemen, pur 
nohile fratriim, acted in concert as far as was practicable, in the 
whole of this business. The following extract from the minutes 
of the meeting of presbytery, October 1815, which Avas printed, 
distributed through the churches, and laid before Synod, to be the 
basis of their proceeding on the subject, was reported to presby- 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. io 

In the Synod of New York and New Jersey, Oc- 
tober 1815, Mr. Finley appeared in conjunction with 
his amiable and excellent associate in this business, to 

tery by these gentlemen jointly as a committee, but was written 
by the last-named gentleman : 

" The committee who were appointed fully to consider and re- 
port on the resolution passed by the presbytery, recommending to 
the ministers with pastoral charges, to form classes of young people 
in their congregations, for studying and reciting on the Bible, 
brought in the following report, which was read and adopted, 
viz. : 

'• The present is an age in which great exertions are making for the 
advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom in the world. Although 
for more than twenty years the civilized world has been shaken to 
its centre, by long-continued and sanguinary wars, yet the people 
of God in Europe and America, have not ceased to send missionaries 
to the heathen, and the word of life to the destitute and poor. No 
plan, however, as your committee believe, has yet been formed by 
any ecclesiastical body, for the express purpose of instructing the 
young in the history, the doctrines, and practical truths of the 
Bible. Such a plan, if carried into complete and general execu- 
tion, we believe would, with the blessing of God, be attended 
with the happiest effects. The young people would have their at- 
tention directed to the most important truths ; it would lead the 
way, by easy stages, to almost daily conversations on religious 
subjects ; it would furnish the minds of the young with such a 
fund of knowledge as might prevent their becoming victims of en- 
thusiasm and error. It would be advantageous to ministers them- 
selves ; it would excite their zeal, and the zeal of their people, and 
with the blessing of God and the aids of the Spirit, may be in- 
strumental, in conjunction with other means, of hastening the time 
when the knowledge of God and his word shall cover the earth, as 
the waters do the sea. 

" With regard to the details of the plan of instruction, your 
committee are of opinion that in general, each minister of a con- 
gregation must be guided by circumstances, and by his own judg- 
ment. Your committee, however, propose the following: 



74 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

recommend and support their favorite plan. The 
outline presented in the preceding extract from the 
minutes of the presbytery of New Brunswick was 
favorably received by the Synod. A resolution was 
passed approving the plan, accepting the report of 

" 1. Wherever a class sufficiently numerous in any part of the 
congregation is formed, at the first meeting, the minister shall de- 
liver a lecture on five chapters, or such other portion of the Bible 
as he may think proper from the Old or New Testament at his 
discretion, holding up to view the principal truths contained in 
those chapters, and explaining the difficult passages they may con- 
tain. At the next meeting the class shall be examined on these 
chapters, and another lecture then given on other chapters of the 
Bible ; this to be continued weekly, or as often as may be conve- 
vient, and to be accompanied with prayer and singing. 

" 2. If it should be practicable to carry into effect the above 
plan, the minister may deliver lectures on the Bible on the Sab- 
bath-day, and examine the young people upon them, as often as 
he may think proper. 

" Your committee offer the following resolutions — 

'* Resolved, That this report be signed by the Moderator and 
Clerk, and that fifty copies thereof be printed, and one copy sent 
to every congregation under the care of the presbj'tery. And that 
the stated Clerk forward one copy to the Committee of Overtures 
of the Synod of New York and Ncav Jersey at their next meeting, 
with a view of bringing this subject before that body, that they 
may take such order thereon as they may see proper. 

" Resolved., That — [this blank was afterwards filled by the pres- 
bytery with the names of Messrs. Finley and Woodhull] — be a 
committee to superintend the printing and distribution of this re- 
port." 

Although the Church and public are indebted in a great degree 
to the first suggester of this scheme for its past and promising use- 
fulness, Mr. Finley is to be considered as having been highly in- 
strumental in maturing the sj^stem, securing its adoption, and 
carrying it into practical effect. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 75 

the committee on the subject,* and directing it to be 
hiid before the next General Assembly, with a view 
that the proposed system might be approved and 

* The following extract from the minutes of Synod, will present 
a view of their proceedings in relation to this business, viz : 

The committee of overtures reported that they had overtured a 
plan for instructing the youth by forming classes in the several 
congregations for studying and reciting the Bible. 

A committee is appointed to consider and report, &c. 

" The committee to whom was referred the overture on forming 
classes of young people for studying and reciting the Bible, made 
the following report which was adopted, viz : 

" This is a subject, which in the opinion of your committee, 
claims an early and careful attention of the Synod. "VMiile the 
whole Christian world concurs in presenting to the destitute and 
uninstructed, the Bible without note or comment, as containing 
the pure and complete word of life, let us not fail to present it, 
distinctly under the same correct and important character, to our 
own children and youth, and induce them by every engaging means 
to study it as such, lest the commonness of the Bible among us, 
connected with any apparent neglect of it, or preference of other 
sources " of instruction, should have influence, to diminish their 
respect for the sacred volume. To awaken the spirit of inquiry, 
and engage the attention of the understanding in perusing the 
scriptures, is an object of the first importance in the religious 
education of youth. To prevent or correct habits of careless 
reading, is essential to their progress in knowledge. And to pre- 
sent distinctly to their view, the Bible as the pure and complete 
fountain of religious knowledge is indispensable in a faithful care 
of their education. Your Committee therefore beg leave to suggest 
the propriety of earnestly recommending to the ministers and 
sessions under the care of this Synod, to pay special attention to 
this subject, and provide without delay, for the stated instruction 
of their children and youth, in distinct portions of the sacred 
scriptures, in the way of particular study and recitation, upon such 
plan, and under such arrangements, as each minister and session 
may think expedient; always taking care, however, that this shall 



76 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

adopted for general use, through the Presbyterian 
Church. 

At the meeting of the General Assembly, in May, 
1816, this important subject was introduced to the 
attention of that venerable body, through the stated 
clerk of the Synod of New York and New Jersey, 
who, by the instructions of Synod, laid before the 
Committee of Overtures, an attested copy of their 
proceedings relative to this interesting matter. 

At that meeting of the General Assembly, Mr. 
Finley appeared, to explain and advocate this over- 
tured measure, and to render it, if practicable, a 
grand characteristic feature of our ecclesiastical sys- 
tem, by obtaining for it the approbation and adop- 
tion of the supreme judicatory in the Presbyterian 
Church. His highest hopes were realized. The pro- 
posed measure speedily obtained the sanction of uni- 
versal suffrage in the General Assembly, and was 
recommended* to all the Presbyteries and congrega- 

not come in the place of learning the catechisms of our church, 
with the scripture proofs annexed, but be added to it, and make a 
leading feature in the course of religious education. Resolved, 
that an attested copy of the above report be transmitted by the 
stated clerk, to the committee of overtures of the next General 
Assembly." 

* The decision of the General Assembly on this subject, con- 
tained in their printed extracts for the year 1816, is in the follow- 
ing words : 

" The committee to which was referred the overture from the 
Synod of New York and New Jersey, on forming classes for young 
people, for studying and reciting the Bible, reported, and their 
report being read and amended, was adopted, and is as follows, 
Yisi : — 



i 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 77 

tions of the Presbyterian Church, to be adopted and 
observed. 

Mr. Finley was so fully persuaded of the impor- 

" That they consider this subject of great importance, and de- 
serving the attention and earnest recommendation of the Assembly ; 
therefore, 

'■'■Resolved^ 1st That it is recommended earnestly to the minis- 
ters and sessions which are in connection with the General Assem- 
bly, to pay a special attention to this subject, and provide without 
delay, for the stated instruction of the children and youth in the 
Sacred Scriptures, within their respective congregations. 

Resolved^ 2d. That although the particular manner of instruc- 
tion and recitation in the congregations, ought to be left to the 
discretion of their ministers and sessions, respectively, yet as some 
degree of uniformity is desirable, in a business of so much magni- 
tude, it is recommended, as the most effectual means of promoting 
the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, that, in all our churches, 
classes be formed of the youth, to recite the Scriptures in regular 
order ; that the recitations, if convenient, be as often as once a 
week, and from two to five chapters appointed for each recitation ; 
that the youth may be examined on : 

" 1st. The history of the world, but more especially of the Church 
of God, and of the heathen nations, who were God's agents in ac- 
complishing his purposes towards his Church. 

" 2d. Persons noted for their piety or ungodliness, and the effects 
of their example in promoting or injuring the best interests of 
mankind. 

" 3d. Doctrine and precepts, or ' what man is to believe concern- 
ing God, and what duty God requires of man.' 

" 4th. Positive ordinances, or the direction which God has given 
as to the way in which he is to be worshipped acceptably. 

" 5th. The particular features of character of which the Spirit 
of God has given notice, both in wicked and good persons ; in the 
last particularly regarding those who were types of Christ, and in 
what the typical resemblance consisted. 

" 6th. The gradual increase, from time to time, of information 
concerning the doctrines contained in the Scriptures ; noting the 



78 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

tance and excellence of such a system of pious instruc- 
tion, and so fully determined to try its practical 

admirable adaptation of every new revelation of doctrine, to the 
increased maturity of the church. The nature of God's law ; its 
immutability, as constituting an everlasting rule of right and 
wrong ; the full and perfect illustration of its precepts, given by 
Christ. 

" 7th. The change which God has made from time to time in 
positive ordinances, together with the reasons of that change. 
The dififerente between the moral law and those laws which are 
positive. 

" 8th. The illustrations of the divine perfections, in the history, 
biography, doctrines and precepts, together with the positive ordi- 
nances of the Scriptures. 

" 9th. The practical lessons to regulate our conduct in the vari- 
ous relations of life. 

" On all these particulars, the meaning of the words used in 
Scripture must be ascertained, that thus we may iinderstand what 
we read. 

" Resolved^ 3d. That the Presbyteries under the care of the As- 
sembly, be directed to take order on this subject ; and they are 
hereby informed, that this is not to come in the place of learning 
the Catechisms of our Church, but to be added to it, as an impor- 
tant branch of religious education." 

In the report of the late General Assembly for 1855, we find a 
notice of this measure, which originated as stated above : 

" Permit us, brethren, to direct your view to Sabbath-school 
and Bible class instruction^ not with design of dictating as to the 
manner in which this shall be attended to, but for the two-fold 
purpose, first, of pressing upon pastors and sessions, not to allow 
their congregations, under what disadvantages soever they may 
seem to labor, to remain without these institutions, so long sanc- 
tioned by our Church and so signally blessed to the gathering of 
the youth into the communion of Christ ; and, secondly, to encou- 
rage such as are already engaged in these §food works and labors 
of love, to review the past, and to contemplate the present, which 
we are permitted to see, that they may not be weary in well doinff, 
for in due season they shall reapP 



J 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 79 

utility, whatever should be the result of the contem- 
plated applications to the judicatories of the church, 
that immediately after he had digested the plan in 
his own mind, he commenced a course of Biblical in- 
struction among the youth of his own congregation. 
This first effort was made at Basking Ridge, in the 
spring of 1815, and about two months preceding the 
meeting of the Presbytery of New Brunswick, at 
which the overture to the Synod was prepared. Mr. 
Finley had the unspeakable satisfaction to see the 
Lord smiling upon his favorite plan of instruction, 
and the divine benediction descending upon its inci- 
pient operations, in a very remarkable manner. 

The prospects of this congregation, as to spiritual 
increase and comfort, were now again greatly bright- 
ened by 'an extraordinary communication from the 
Father of Lights and Mercies. It pleased the King 
of Zion to bow his heavens, come down, and renew 
his operations there, in a very special and effectual 
manner. 

The youth residing principally about the village, 
who had been formed into a class for the purpose of 
prosecuting the Bible study, and who had, for some 
months previous, given careful and diligent attention 
to the course of instruction prescribed, were the first 
that felt this heavenly impulse. And the circum- 
stances of the case were such as to produce a full 
belief that the Bible study, so recently introduced, 
had been very extensively, if not exclusively instru- 
mental,* in producing this unexpected and most ani- 

■" In a report by Dr. Green, President of the College of New Jer- 
sey, on the subject of the revival of religion which took place in 



80 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

mating excitement. The evidences of this gracious 
work, were first exhibited in a prayer meeting, which 
had been instituted some time previous, and observed 
on Sabbath mornings before the hour of divine ser- 
vice. This society, after having appeared to dimin- 
ish in number, and to decline in zeal, was observed 
to increase suddenly, so much, that a larger room 
than that usually occupied became necessary. It 
was at one of these Sabbath morning meetings that 
the presence and power of the Lord were very clearly 
manifested. Nearly the whole school, a large num- 
ber of young persons belonging to the vicinity, and 
a promiscuous assemblage, of all ages and circum- 
stances, were present. The Spirit of the Lord de- 
scended upon them as a rushing mighty wind, and 
filled the house with his presence. A co^i^siderable 
number of those present, who had been till then care- 
less were filled with deep convictions of sin, and con- 
cern for salvation. A solemn impression was made 
on many minds, and a seriousness very unusual was 
spread over the whole assembly. During this inte- 
resting scene, Mr. Finley was absent from home, and 
without the least thought of what was taking place 
there. On his return, after a short absence, and re- 
ceiving information of what had occurred, mingled 

that institution, 1815, the study of the Holy Scriptures is assigned 
as one of its chief " instrumental causes." See this report, &c., pub- 
lished by B. B. Hopkins, Philadelphia, 1815. To the same instru- 
mental cause, in a very great degree, are to be attributed, several 
powerful and extensive awakenings recently experienced in the 
Presbyterian Church in the State of New Jersey, in the State of 
New York, and in other districts of our country, where the system 
proposed by the General Assembly has been introduced. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FTNLEY. 81 

emotions of wonder, joy and praise, almost over- 
whelmed his spirit. His first interview with some 
trembling, anxious youth, belonging to his school, 
who came to him for direction and relief, was ex- 
tremely affecting. His tender sensibilities were so 
much excited that he was at first unable to speak. 

The spirit of this man of God became now again 
deeply stirred within him, and he was enabled to 
make another great and effectual efibrt for the promo- 
tion of the Redeemer's kingdom, among that people. 

A season of deep conviction and anxious inquiry 
among sinners now ensued. This work of grace pro- 
gressed in a silent and hidden manner. It spread 
gradually and almost imperceptibly, in every direc- 
tion, from the region of the church where it com- 
menced, to the extremities of the congregation. The 
impressions, which were most powerful and alarming, 
seemed to produce, in general, no audible out-cry, 
nor any very striking and visible emotion ; but mul- 
titudes of careless sinners were filled with solemn 
concern, and^he people of God were deeply afi'ected 
and moVed by the quickening influences sent down 
from on high. While the awakening was extending, 
with a steady and uniform pace in every direction, 
Mr. Finley endeavored to lead its way and aid its 
progress, by abundant and unwearied labors. He 
preached from house to house, in season and out of 
season, with a vehemence, a frequency and a perse- 
v0l'ance, truly astonishing, almost incredible. His 
discourses were usually long, powerful and alarming. 
His voice, his words and his manner, sometimes, like 



82 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

lightning, seemed to strike the guilty to the floor : 
sometimes his public addresses were of the most ten- 
der, pathetic and melting kind. In the course of 
this out-pouring of the Divine Spirit, he preached in 
a few instances four times a day ; not unfrequently 
nine times a week ; and for months together, on an 
average, once in twenty-four hours. His whole heart 
and spirit seemed to be concentrated and absorbed in 
this great business. He appeared verily to lose sight 
of himself, of his academic engagements, of his domes- 
tic concerns, of his personal ease, and of every inte- 
rest but the everlasting interests of perishing sinners, 
and the glory of God. He visited from family to 
family with the familiarity and affection of a friend 
and father. He advised, instructed and entreated the 
thoughtless and secure in sin, with prayers to God 
and many tears, to seek the Saviour. He performed 
these duties with an importunity and solemnity of 
mind, fully convincing every beholder that he felt 
his awful responsibility ; watching for souls and treat- 
ing with sinners on the subject of their eternal wel- 
fare, as an ambassador of the great God. 

The following interesting letter, from a young gen- 
tleman residing at Basking Ridge during this revival, 
to a respectable lady who had requested information 
on this subject, is introduced, and will be read with 
pleasure : 

^'•Basking Ridge^ 30th Sep., 1815. 
"Respected Madam: — 

"I now comply with your request, made through 
Mr. G. You may justly accuse me of negligence, in 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 83 

omitting thus long to write. When I saw Mr. G. 
the work was in its first stages, and I thought proper 
to delay a few weeks, that I might be enabled to give 
you a more satisfactory statement. 

'' The blessed work of the out-pouring of the Spirit 
of God, which has at length spread through different 
parts of this congregation, first commenced in our 
academy. In the latter part of the month of June, 
Mr. Finley preached a sermon addressed particularly 
to the youth. Although, perhaps, a more than ordi- 
nary attention was observed on that day, yet two 
weeks elapsed before it was known that any were 
seriously awakened, when it was discovered that two 
young men of our school were deeply impressed with 
a sense of divine things. Impressions on the hearts 
of others, as was afterwards discovered, were gradu- 
ally increasing, who did not for several days subse- 
quent to this manifest it ; until one of the young men 
who had been disposed to speak lightly of the work, 
and scofi" at the idea that his school-fellows were be- 
coming religious, was, while at his lodgings, suddenly 
arrested with an awful apprehension of the danger of 
his state, while out of Christ. This had considerable 
effect with those who had taken part with him in his 
folly. Thus the number of the subjects of the work 
was increasing, until it became so powerful, that we 
were induced to hope for a time, that almost the 
whole school was pressing into the kingdom of our 
Saviour. The greater part of the school, which con- 
sists of about forty-five, were in a greater or less de- 
gree awakened. What a blessed prospect was then 



84 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

before us ! How pleasing to see children of tender 
age, laying aside their childish sports, and to hear 
them inquiring for their Saviour ! Compassionate 
Redeemer ! thou canst out of the mouth of babes and 
sucklings, perfect praise ! 

" We lament that impressions have worn off with 
many. But blessed be the name of the Most High, 
that about nine of their number have obtained a com- 
fortable hope that they been made the subjects of 
regenerating grace. We have strong confidence to 
hope in God, that the seed sown in the hearts of 
many others will yet spring up, and bear the fruit of 
eternal life. Oh, Divine Spirit ! perfect thy work in 
the hearts of those where thou hast commenced it ; 
begin it where it is not yet begun ; and bring them 
all into the fold of Christ. 

" This blessed w^ork, which for some time was 
confined to the academy, has at length spread into 
various parts of the congregation. It is still, we 
hope, gradually extending. About thirty persons, 
including those of the school, have hopefully been 
converted to' the Saviour. Nearly seventy others 
are supposed to be in a greater or less degree awa- 
kened. Mr. Finley labors with unwearied diligence. 
We have praying societies every evening in the week, 
many of which Mr. Finley attends. This week, be- 
sides the regular services of the Sabbath, he has 
preached seven times. Last evening we had a very 
interesting meeting. God, by his Spirit, appeared to 
be sensibly near. 

" What cause of rejoicing to the friends of the 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 85 

Redeemer's kingdom in this place, for this gracious 
visitation from the presence of the Lord. This is a 
highly favored people. Madam, unite your prayers 
with ours, for the still greater effusions of the spirit 
of grace. Yea, blessed Saviour, ride forth in the 
majesty of thy gospel, and let this be a rich harvest 
of the precious fruits of eternal life, a glorious in- 
gathering of precious souls to thyself!" 



8 



C HAP TE R IV. 

Mr. Finley's Tours through his large Parish — His Health be- 
comes IMPAIRED FROM EXCESSIVE LaBORS ACCOUNT OP THE 

EARLY AND PROGRESSIVE THOUGHTS, PlANS, AND DOINGS PREPARA- 
TORY TO THE Formation of the American Colonization So- 
ciety — Notice of the African Synodical School — Mr. Finley's 
Letter to John P. Mumford, Esq. — His Journey to Washing- 
ton. 

During this season of revival, which continued 
about eight months, Mr. Finley formed and executed 
a resolution to visit personally, as minister of the 
Gospel, not only the households belonging strictly to 
his extensive charge ; but the great number of fami- 
lies living in the mountainous and barren out-skirts 
of his congregation, more particularly on the north- 
west and southwest borders. This brought upon him, 
in a cold and inclement season, a great increase of 
labor and hardships, which he endured cheerfully. 
To the prosecution of this enterprise of benevolence, 
he devoted those seasons which he could redeem from 
the pressure of services and cares nearer home. Thus 
he endeavored to hunt out the poor and ignorant in 
their retired dwelling places, to rouse them to a sense 
of sin and danger, and to convey to their houses and 
hearts the glad tidings of pardon and salvation, 
throuGih the blood of Christ. On these tours of com- 
passion, he spent in the whole, at different times. 



BIOGRAPHY OP DR. FINLEY. 87 

about two months, during the winter of 1815-16. 
Sometimes he set 'out on foot, and travelled onward 
for three or four days, instructing* and praying in 
the families that successively fell in his way. Wher- 
ever he could assemble a sufficient number, even a 
small group, he spent some time in preaching and , 
talkino- to them on the momentous concerns of eter- 
nity.f 

* In one of Mr. Finley's visits to a remote part of his congrega- 
tion, he called at a habitation where the head of the family was 
absent. He soon entered into conversation with the mistress of 
the house, whom he found at home. She appeared to be highly 
pleased with having an opportunity of conversing on religious 
subjects ; and with much apparent warmth and zeal, expressed 
the most sincere love to God, and the greatest desire to be de- 
voted to him. After the conversation ended, Mr. Finley called to 
him one of her children, who was in the house, and asked him 
some of those questions which are generally very familiar to chil- 
dren who have been religiously educated — such as, who made 
you ? of what were you made ? who is the Redeemer of men ? He 
found that the child was unable to answer any question of this 
kind, and had received no instruction from his parents in the first 
principles of religion. He then turned to the woman, and in a 
tone of indignation, addressed her : " Woman, is this your love to 
God? How is it possible that you love God, when you neglect to 
teach your children anything about him ?" &c. He continued his 
observations until she became much affected, and to appearance 
deeply impressed. 

f It was often difficult to provide agreeable accommodations 
for the people that attended ; and the business of preparing seats, 
in some instances, fell principally upon himself. Once in particu- 
lar, rather than expose the audience to the inconvenience and fa- 
tigue of standing to receive his instructions, after the people began 
to assemble, he took down the loose boards which composed the 
second floor of the house, and made seats of them on chairs and 
benches, with his own hands, for the accommodation of the assem- 
blino- multitude. 



88 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

In the course of these missionary excursions, he 
found more than fifty families totally destitute of the 
sacred Scriptures. Some of these families he sup- 
plied immediately from the small stock of Bibles, 
Testaments, and Tracts he usually took with him on 
these journeys ; and to the others, he took measures 
as soon as possible to furnish the word of life.* 
These labors of love, which he accomplished with no 
inconsiderable exposure and fatigue, afi'orded his own 
heart much satisfaction, and he had reason to be- 
lieve, were productive of extensive benefit to many 
individuals and families. 

While his expanded benevolence and zeal em- 
braced the poor and miserable in the extreme limits, 
and even beyond the confines of his immediate charge, 
he was inflamed with the most warm desires, and em- 
ployed, as far as possible, the most vigorous eifortsf to 

* Mr. Finley was in the practice of giving Bibles, occasionally at 
his own expense, to the poor whom he discovered to be destitute, 
before the Bible societies of this State commenced their operations. 
A pastor of a congregation contiguous to that of Basking Ridge, 
on visiting some families in low circumstances living near the 
limits of these respective congregations, offered a poor German a 
Bible, supposing him to have none ; to which the German replied, 
" You and Finley makes me one very good man, or gives me one 
very hot hell ; for Finley gives me a Bible many years ago." 

■}■ Mr. Finley's exertions were necessarily moderated towards 

spring, on account of the exhausted and reduced state of his 

health. The following extract from a letter to a very respectable 

friend in the city of New York, received since writing the above, will 

support and illustrate this remark and other parts of the preceding 

statement : 

Basking Ridge, February 14, 1S16. 

" Dear Sir : — 

" Our past intercourse, which T found oftentimes so satisfactory. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 89 

carry on the work of grace, which continued in some 
measure to progress, in the interior of his congrega- 
tion, till the ensuing spring. Of the impressions 
which had been experienced, those among the youth 

often occurs to my remembrance, and excites a wish that circum- 
stances could admit me to keep up the same intercourse ^xe once 
enjoyed. But, so it is, that the business of each day and its cares 
are sufficient, and often more than sufficient for itself, and though 
the spirit is willing, it seems impossible to do what would be desi- 
rable to my old friends. 

" It was a matter of regret that when A was here, he gave 

me so little of his company. Oh ! could we but love our Saviour 
as we ought, we should soon have our place where no distance 
would ever separate us from our friends. 

" The revival of religion in this place languishes and declines, 
owing in the way of means to ni}- being unable to pursue the work ' 
with much vigor. The great fatigues through which I went during 
the summer and fall, in the end affected my nervous system greatly 
and weakened my strength, m the way. Still I preach about three 
times a week, besides the Sabbath, and my number of hearers is 
great. New awakenings have not lately occurred, but some of 
those who have been long awakened, are from time to time brought 
into the city of refuge. The Lord grant me a little more strength 
of body and mind to go on and try to serve Him the remnant of 
an unprofitable life. In my late attempts to serve God, it appears to 
me there has been less of self than on some former occasions. The 
little acquaintance I have had with revivals of religion, and the 
great experience I have had with spiritual pride, induced me to 
make the observations which you noticed last fall in the Synod, rela- 
tive to passing j9m6Z{c encomiums on the female praying societies. 
Concerning these societies, I never had but one opinion, and that 
was in their favor ; but one desire, the Lord increase their num- 
ber and their spirit of prayer. 

" We all send our love to Mrs. ; my daughters remember 

yours affectionately, and with great respect and esteem, 
" I am, dear sir, yours, 

" Robert Fixlky." 



90 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

were found in general to be most deep and permanent. 
And the individuals wlio received comfort from God, 
in their spiritual concerns, and in due season obtained 
admission to the communion of his church, as the 
fruits of this merciful visitation, amounting in the 
whole to about fifty-five, were chiefly in the morning 
of life. Of these a considerable number were stu- 
dents in the academy. Some, who at first made light 
of this sacred work, became subjects of divine influ- 
ence, and very early gave evidence of a gracious 
change. So general and so strong were the spiritual 
impulse and fervor, in this institution, that a prayer 
meeting was established and observed regularly with 
great seriousness, among the members of the school 
themselves. Several young men of good talents, be- 
came hopefully pious, during this day of divine power, 
and are contemplating the ministry of the gospel, as 
the end of their studies and the desire of their hearts. 
In the spring of 1816, the congregation returned 
to its ordinary state, which afi'orded to Mr. Finley a 
season of comparative repose, very imperiously called 
for by the impaired state of his health. The ordi- 
nary labors he prescribed for himself, and faithfully 
discharged without intermission, having been very ex- 
tensive, and the seasons of excitement and revival, in 
which he had made extraordinary exertion, having 
been quite numerous, it was to be expected, notwith- 
standing the uncommon strength and vitality of his 
frame, that the vigor of his constitution and anima- 
tion of his spirit would feel the efi"ect. At several 
periods, previous to his last great effort in the service 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 91 

of God, the stability of liis health appeared to be con- 
siderably shaken, so that relaxation from labor, and 
invigoration by travelling, became necessary ; but his 
parochial and domestic ties would not permit him to 
make excursions so extensive and efficacious, as the 
condition of his nerves demanded. 

The joy he experienced at this period at seeing the 
church open her bosom to receive to a participation 
in her privileges and hopes, more than fifty return- 
ing prodigals who presented themselves together in 
the aisle to devote themselves to the Lord, did not re- 
pair the ravages of intense exertion, severe exposures, 
sleepless nights, and incessant anxieties, encountered 
through the preceding winter. Probably, at this 
period the foundation of that disease was laid, which 
prematurely terminated his course of usefulness and 
honor in the church below. His nervous system pre- 
sented evidences of great debility and disorder. Still 
he gave nature very little opportunity to recover her 
wasted energy, either by a suspension of labor or a 
resort to efficient restoratives. He generally in- 
creased his exertions when at home, to compensate 
for his short occasional absences for the benefit of his 
health. 

About this period Mr. Finley began to disclose 
to his friends the outlines of the noble and bene- 
volent scheme, in behalf of the free people of color 
in the United States, which his capacious and phi- 
lanthropic mind had been for years meditating. His 
early thoughts on this subject, it is believed, were 
never fully known by any person but the writer, and 



92 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

were never fully disclosed at all, by himself or an- 
other, in any written document, except so far as con- 
tained in the first edition of the 3Iemoir of Finley^ 
published in A. D. 1819. The author being at that 
time in an impaired state of health, and fully occu- 
pied, could not find leisure for some explanatory re- 
marks on the subject of this colonization enterprise, 
which are here considered appropriate. Indeed, in 
the infant state of the society, he did not think it 
necessary to expand the brief view then presented. 

Dr. Finley's sympathy for the colored race, arose 
out of his native dislike to slavery, and fixed antipa- 
thy to all the phases of it he had ever seen. These 
impressions he evidently derived, in some measure, 
from his venerable father, who imported them with 
him from Scotland, where, it is well known, such feel- 
ings existed in great power, and exist still. These 
impressions, moreover, acquired increased strength 
from the influence of Dr. Witherspoon, who was by 
no means reserved in avowing his anti-slavery senti- 
ments before the young men of the college, who fre- 
quently held debates before him, as president of the 
institution, involving these questions, which were then 
rife in every society, and generally absorbing to the 
public mind.* 

The visit of Mr. Finley, after he left college, to 
Charleston, South Carolina, lent no inconsiderable 
aid in confirming his opinions and feelings in oppo- 
sition to negro slavery. Multitudes of colored peo- 

'^' The subject of manumission began to occupy public attention, 
in conversation, as early as 1795. Dr. Witherspoon died in 1799. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 93 

pie of both sexes and of all ages and conditions were 
constantly passing before his eyes, in a stage of im- 
provement and civilization very greatly in arrears 
to that they now exhibit in that city. These views 
did not diminish his sensibilities in favor of the colored 
race. 

On returning to his native state, and living for 
many years in constant familiarity with the institu- 
tion of slavery, as it existed in most of the northern 
States, he dwelt upon the subject, and brought it up 
among his intelligent parishioners as an interesting 
topic for familiar and serious consideration. His at- 
tention to the colored people around him, in his own 
parish, at Basking Ridge, were assiduous and perse- 
vering, so that they loved him as a father, and fre- 
quented his ministrations from a considerable distance, 
in great numbers. Mr. Finley's heart teemed with 
benevolent emotions from his youth. That he might 
be useful was the governing desire and aim of his 
whole life. He was not satisfied with small daily 
acts of benevolence, though he abounded in them 
whenever an opportunity was presented. But his 
supreme object was to bring forward some great and 
benevolent scheme, of an elevated and extensive na- 
ture, that would make a deep impression — set a noble 
example — assume a national character — contribute 
largely to mitigate the sufferings of some aggrieved 
portion of the human family, and augment the gene- 
ral mass of individual and public happiness. For 
this purpose he fixed his eye early upon the condition 
of the colored people in these United States, as pre- 



94 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

senting a suitable sphere for the exercise of his pro- 
found and ruling passion. All his observation and 
knowledge of the colored race, gave stability and 
power to his convictions and desires on this subject. 

The writer of these pages was then in comparative 
youth, but having previously resided in Mr. Finley's 
family for some years, as a pupil in a course of pre- 
paration for college, was early admitted to a free and 
familiar participation in these interesting conversa- 
tions — a participation which he embraced more read- 
ily, and enjoyed more fully, from the fact that he 
found from the beginning that his feelings and views, 
in all essentials, corresponded with those of his ex- 
cellent and honored friend. This subject of conver- 
sation and state of feeling having originated as de- 
tailed above, were spoken of but seldom for some time, 
and then the whole scheme of benevolence, when pre- 
sented, seemed to be like stating a vast problem 
— novel and indefinite in nature — difficult of solution, 
but promising important results. The writer was 
located in Lawrenceville in 1807, and soon became 
much engaged in professional labors, but his family 
relatives living in the vicinity of Mr. Finley, his at- 
tachment to him being very strong, and the judica- 
tories of the church frequently meeting in those dis- 
tricts, an opportunity was afforded for keeping up 
this familiarity, and renewing those interviews upon 
the subject of some plan of benevolence of a public 
and decisive character connected with the African 
population. The kindred subject of manumission was, 
about the same period, and had been some time pre- 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 95 

viously, kept before the public mind by the people 
and by the press. The Legislature of New Jersey, 
having discussed the subject year after year, passed 
an act ultimately securing universal emancipation in 
the State. Its cardinal feature consisted in placing 
all colored children born after 1804 in a state of 
apprenticeship and entitling them to freedom, the 
females at twenty-one years of age and males at 
twenty-five. This legal arrangement, completely and 
forever abolished slavery in the State of New Jersey. 

The dormant project of colonization was revived 
and strengthened by that enactment. The whole en- 
terprise received a favorable impulse ; and although 
the subject was little thought of in general, yet the 
few who had conceived the idea at first, cherished it 
more warmly and felt fresh courage. . The subject 
was seldom mentioned, but to deplore the state of the 
colored population at the South, and to improve pub- 
lic sentiment at the North. 

About the year 1812 we had the satisfaction of 
discovering that there were quite a number of breth- 
ren in the Synod of New York and New Jersey who 
cherished feelings on this subject, in some points, an- 
alogous to our own. Among these may be named the 
Rev. Drs. James Richards and E. D. Griffin, then of 
Newark ; Dr. John McDowell, of Elizabethtown ; 
Rev. Barnabas King, of Rockaway ; Rev. John Ford, 
of Parsippany ; together with the Rev. Drs. John B. 
Romeyn, and Gardiner Spring, and others of New 
York. Several honorable laymen were enrolled in 



96 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

this catalogue. Hon. Jos. C. Hornblower, John E. 
Caldwell, Esqr., Zachariah Lewis, and Col. John Neil- 
son. These benevolent gentlemen, and others, had 
their attention directed to the work of establishing an 
African school^ under the care of the Synod of New 
York and New Jersey, to educate and prepare young 
men of color to labor as missionaries on the African 
coast, or wherever they might be called. Such a sem- 
inary was instituted under the patronage of that Syn- 
od, after the organization of the Colonization Society, 
as the synodical records will show. It was located at 
Parsippany, under the care of the Rev. John Ford, of 
that place. A few respectable and promising candi- 
dates were brought forward by it, and commissioned 
for the work intended. Difficulties, however, of so 
serious and obstinate a nature, speedily occurred in 
the management of this school, that after a short ex- 
periment its founders and warm supporters became 
discouraged, and advised the Synod to discontinue 

it. 

Through this period the subject of colonization was 
never made the theme of any popular discussion, and 
the writer cannot recollect that it was ever mentioned 
in any public meeting connected with African im- 
provement. It reposed in the breasts of a few quiet- 
ly, but was never forgotten. With them the great 
idea was gathering strength from the observation of 
passing events ; years elapsed and at length oppor- 
tunities were embraced at the semi-annual and pro- 
re-nata meetings of the Presbytery of New Bruns- 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 97 

wick for holding interesting conferences on this sub- 
ject, and others akin to it. 

These were some of the elementary primary meet- 
ings which kept the colonization scheme alive, and 
nursed it into being. Here, it must be mentioned, 
that the Rev. George S. Woodhull, then of Cranber- 
ry, a man of remarkable coolness, and calmness of 
temperament, came into this incipient colonization 
enterprise with great zeal and devotion. He, too, 
was well known to the writer as an early and original 
opposer of slavery ; quiet and unobtrusive, but firm 
and immutable in what he believed to be right. In 
colonization he was never prominent, but he never 
wavered till death removed him from all further par- 
ticipation in it. But Dr. Finley was the Magnus 
Apollo then — his name is now the polar star, and it 
will be, under God, the pillar of cloud for ever. 

Some reasons, of a providential character, influ- 
enced in not calling a public meeting thus early to 
discuss this matter. So far as any judgment could be 
formed upon the subject, from some private confiden- 
tial remarks, it was considered by most men so vis- 
ionary a project, that no good could be expected from 
any public meeting, but perhaps some efi'ects of a 
contrary nature. It was believed that the recent 
State action in New Jersey, which was recognized and 
appreciated in the periodicals and newspapers of our 
own and neighboring States, was exerting a very sal- 
utary influence wherever it became known. 

Witnessing this happy and reasonable extension of 
influence, favorable to the cause of emancipation in 
9 



98 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

general, it was judged wise to wait, watch, and gen- 
tly assist, the progress of public opinion, without 
attracting general observation. Every year exhibited 
evidence of advance in the good work of forming a 
healthful public sentiment, in regard to extending lib- 
erty and kindred benefits to the African race scat- 
tered widely abroad in these United States, and exist- 
ing in great numbers in Africa. About the years 
1814-'15, the period seemed to have arrived when a 
move might be safely made to disclose and carry out 
the thoughts which had been so long confined and 
laboring in our minds. 

The great revival of 1815, at Basking Ridge, had 
recently come to a happy close, and left the people 
there in a quiet state ; but the health of the preacher 
was very much shattered by excessive effort during 
many months past. A temporary suspension of his 
ministerial labors was absolutely necessary. Though 
resolute in spirit, he felt the need of this measure, and 
determined to devote the period of relaxation to the 
furtherance of the colonization cause. Hence Mr. 
Finley began to be less reserved on this interesting 
subject, which had very much engrossed his philan- 
thropic mind for some years. . 

The following letter to Jno. P. Mumford, in New 
York, will exhibit, in some measure, the current of 
his thoughts, and the state of his mind, in relation to 
this matter ; even in the midst of the revival, which 
was progressing through the winter of 1815-'16, and 
whose responsibilities and labors were so exceedingly 
engrossing and exhausting at the time of writing it. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 99 

Basking Ridge ^ February 14, 1816.* 

Mr. John P. Mumford, 

Dear Sir: — The longer I live to see the wretched- 
ness of men, the more I admire the virtue of those 
who devise, and with patient sacrifice labor to exe- 
cute plans for the relief of the wretched. On this 
subject the state of the free blacks has very much 
oppressed my mind. Their number increases greatly, 
and their wretchedness too as appears to me. Every 
thing connected with their condition, including their 
color, is against them ; nor is there much prospect 
that their state can ever be greatly ameliorated, while 
they shall continue among us. Could not the rich 
and benevolent devise means to form a colony on some 
part of Africay similar to the one at Sierra Leone^ 
which might gradually induce many free blacks to go 
and settle, devising for them the means of getting 
there, and of protection and support, till they were 
established ? Ought not Congress to be petitioned to 
grant them a district in a good climate, say on the 
shores of the Pacific Ocean ? Our fathers brought 
them here, and we are bound, if possible to repair the 
injuries inflicted by our fathers. Could they be sent 
back to Africa, a three-fold benefit would arise. We 
should be cleared of them ; — we should send to Africa 

* This letter we find transcribed into Dr. Alexander's " History 
of African Colonization," on pages 77 and 78. There are two or 
three unaccountable errors in the transcript. First — It is dated 
February 15, 1815, one year too early. Second — It is addressed 
to John 0. Mumford ; "whereas, it should be as appeared by the 
original in my possession. John P. Mumford, — dated February 
14, 1816. 



100 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

a population partially civilized and christianized for 
its benefit : — our blacks themselves would be put in a 
better situation. Think much on this subject — then 
please write to me when you have leisure. 
I am, Dear Sir, Yours, &c., 

Robert Finley. 

"When the ensuing spring opened he became more 
extensively interested in this subject, more free in 
communicating his views of it, and more active in 
endeavoring, by conversation and correspondence, to 
engage in its favor, persons of talents, wealth and 
piety, in church and state. Through the following 
summer, in general, and especially in his occasional 
excursions from home, and interviews with his breth- 
ren in the ministry, this subject appeared to be uni- 
formly uppermost in his thoughts, and was the chief 
topic of conversation. In his applications to indi- 
viduals for advice and assistance, he met with very 
little direct opposition. The few gentlemen with 
whom he had intercourse, in relation to this object, 
approved the plan so far as it was then understood ; 
but, at the same time, a general impression prevailed, 
that the whole scheme, though benevolent and noble, 
was visionary and impracticable. At length the sub- 
ject which he had deeply considered, and the opinions 
of his friends whom he had consulted, furnished so 
much encouragement, that he resolved to make a 
great effort to carry his benevolent views into effect. 
An important question was then to be decided : in 
what place and in what manner would it be best to 
commence active operations in pursuing the proposed 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 101 

object? In contemplating this preliminary inquiry 
and making additional preparatory arrangements, he 
spent a considerable part of the fall of 1816. To- 
wards the close of November, he became determined 
to test the popularity, and in some measure the prac- 
ticability of the whole system, by introducing the 
subject to public notice, at the City of Washington. 

Notwithstanding Dr. Finley's previous reflection 
and consultation with a few friends about home, he 
felt timid and somewhat doubtful as to the success of 
his plan. To obtain the opinion of some gentlemen of 
distinction, who had never participated in the delibera- 
tions above described, he called at Princeton on his 
way to Washington, about the 1st of December, 1816 ; 
and during the evening spent there, met a small com- 
pany of gentlemen, invited by himself, that he might 
hear their sentiments on a subject he had every 
reason to believe entirely new to them. This was 
the meeting which Dr. Alexander describes, page 80 
of his work, as ''the first public meeting which ever 
took place to consider the subject of African coloni- 
zation in this country." Having very recently, about 
three years before, come into New Jersey, and having 
been much absorbed in ororanizinsj the Theological 
Seminary during that short period, he had, of course, 
enjoyed very little opportunity to ascertain the private 
opinions of gentlemen living around some distance in 
the country, or learning the history of their transac- 
tions in past years, both before and after his settle- 
ment at Princeton, hence he would naturally come to~ 
that conclusion. 

9* 



102 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

Of that meeting, it is observed by Dr. Alexander, 
page 80, "It was called hy Dr. Finley. The meet- 
ing was small. But in the number of attendants, 
were most of the Professors of the College and of the 
Theological Seminary. It was apparent that the in- 
terest of those to whom the scheme was made hnoivn, 
was increased the longer they thought upon it." 

Dr. Finley arrived at Washington very early in 
December. He immediately published his thoughts 
which follow. This document was viewed as evidence 
of a strong, benevolent and active mind, exploring a 
new and interesting subject ; exhibiting its difficulties, 
advantages, and various points of interest, in so dis- 
tinct, judicious and impressive a manner, that subse- 
quent speakers and writers upon the subjects discussed, 
have added but few prominent ideas to those there pre- 
sented. This paper excited much attention, and ex- 
erted considerable influence on the public mind. The 
subject of colonization, so far as Dr. Finley could dis- 
cover, was almost entirely novel, and utterly unex- 
pected at that time. He called upon the President of 
the United States, upon Hon. WilTiam H. Crawford, 
Secretary of the Treasury, upon the Hon. Henry 
Clay, and several other gentlemen of talents and pro- 
minence. Not one of them opposed his plan ; most 
of them promised to attend a meeting on the subject, 
the time for which was announced. The Hon. H. 
Clay was prompt in his declarations, attentions and 
actions, in favor of the institution as soon as the sub- 
ject was proposed, and continued liis zeal for it till 
the close of his life. • 



CHAPTER V. 

Organization of the Colonization Society, in Congress Hall, 
December 21st, 1816 — Henry Clay Presided — His Speech — 
Address of E. B. Caldwell, and Others — Resolutions — 
Adjourned Meeting — Constitution Adopted — Officers Ap- 
pointed — Dr. Finley's Health Improved. 

At the first meeting in the Congressional Hall, 
on the 21st of December, the Hon. Henry Clay was 
called to the Chair. Before taking his seat, he ad- 
dressed the meeting in the following terms, as reported 
in the Intelligencer, viz : 

" He understood the object of the present meeting 
to be to consider the propriety and practicability of 
colonizing the free jjeople of color^ in the United 
States, and of forming an association in relation to 
that object. That class of the mixed population of 
our country was peculiarly situated. They neither 
enjoyed the immunities of free men, nor were they 
subject to the incapacities of slaves, but partook in 
some degree of the qualities of both. From their 

* "We see here in the first step taken towards the organization 
of the Colonization Society, all interference with slaves and slavery 
is disavowed. This Society deals with freemen and freemen alone. 
It leaves the individual States, according to the Constitution,, to 
manage their slaves and slavery system, in their own preferred 
way. And it leaves the rights and immunities of slave owners 
entirely' untouched. 



104 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

condition, and the unconquerable prejudices resulting 
from their color, they never could amalgamate with 
the free whites of this country. It was desirable, 
therefore, both as it respected them and the residue 
of the population of the country to draw them off. 
Various schemes of colonization had been thought of, 
and a part of our own continent it was thought by 
some might furnish a suitable establishment for them, 
but for his part he had a decided preference for some 
part of the coast of Africa. There, ample provision 
might be made for the colony itself, and it might be 
rendered instrumental to the introduction into that 
extensive quarter of the globe of the arts, civilization 
and Christianity. There was a peculiar, a moral fit- 
ness, in restoring them to the land of their fathers. 
And, if instead of the evils and sufferings which we 
have been the innocent cause of inflicting upon the 
inhabitants of Africa, we can transmit to her the 
blessings of our arts, our civilization, and our religion ; 
may we not hope that America will extinguish a great 
portion of that moral debt which she has contracted 
to that unfortunate continent ? We should derive 
much encouragement in the prosecution of the object 
which had assembled us together, by the success 
which had attended the colony at Sierra Leone. The 
establishment had commenced about twenty or twenty- 
five years ago, under the patronage of private indi- 
viduals in Great Britain. The basis of the population 
of the colony consisted of the fugitive slaves of the 
Southern States during the Revolutionary war, who 
had first been carried to Nova Scotia, and who after- 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 105 

wards, about the year 1792, upon their own applica- 
tion, almost en masse, had been transferred to the 
Western Coast of Africa. The colony after strug- 
gling with the most unheard of difficulties, — difficul- 
ties resulting from the ignorance, barbarity and pre- 
judice of the natives, from the climate, (which were 
however found to be not at all insurmountable,) from 
wars, African as well as European, and such as are 
incidental to all new settlements, had made a gradual 
and steady progress until it has acquired a strength 
and stability which promises to crown the efforts of 
its founders with complete success. We have their 
experience before us, and can there be a nobler cause 
tnan that which while it proposes to rid our own coun- 
try of a useless and pernicious, if not a dangerous 
portion of its population, contemplates the spreading 
of the arts of civilized life, and the possible redemp- 
tion from ignorance and barbarism of a benighted 
portion of the globe ? 

''It was proper. and necessary distinctly to state, 
that he understood it constituted no part of the object 
of this meeting to touch or agitate in the slightest 
degree a delicate question connected with another 
portion of the colored population of our country. It 
was not proposed to deliberate on, or consider at all, 
any question of emancipation, or that which was con- 
nected with the abolition of slavery. It was upon 
that condition alone, he was sure, that many gentle- 
men from the South and West whom he saw present, 
had attended, or could be expected to co-operate. It 
was upon that condition that he himself attended. 



106 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

He would only further add, that he hoped in their 
deliberations they would be guided by that modera- 
tion, politeness and deference for the opinion of each 
other, which were essential to any useful result. But 
when he looked around and saw the respectable 
assemblage, and recollected the humane and benevo- 
lent purpose which had produced it, he felt it unne- 
cessary to insist further on this topic." 

Elias B. Caldwell, Esqr., Secretary of the Supreme 
Court of the United States, next addressed the meet- 
ing in substance as follows, viz : 

"I feel peculiar embarrassment in obtruding myself 
upon the notice of so large and respectable a meet- 
ing, in which I find some of the most distinguished 
characters of our country. I ask your indulgence in 
offering to the consideration of the meeting, the reso- 
lution which I hold in my hand, and to a few explan- 
atory observations. The objects of the meeting have 
been feelingly and correctly stated by the honorable 
chairman. The subject seems to be divided into 1st, 
the expediency — and 2dly the practicability of the 
proposed plan. 

"The expediency of colonizing the free people of 
color in the United States, may be considered in ref- 
erence to its influence on our civil institutions, on the 
morals and habits of the people, and on the future 
happiness of the free people of color. It has been a 
subject of unceasing regret, and anxious solicitude, 
among many of our best patriots, and wisest states- 
men, from the first establishment of our independence, 
that this class of people should remain a monument of 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 107 

reproach to those sacred principles of civil liberty 
which constitute the foundations of all our constitu- 
tions. We say in the Declaration of Independence 
'that all men are created equal, and have certain 
unalienable rights.' Yet it is considered impossible, 
consistently with the safety of the State, and it is cer- 
tainly impossible with the present feelings towards 
these people, that they can ever be placed upon this 
equality, or admitted to the enjoyment of these 'un- 
alienable rights,' while they remain mixed with us. 
Some persons may declaim and call it prejudice. No 
matter ! Prejudice is as powerful a motive, and will 
as certainly exclude them, as the soundest reason. 
Others may say they are free enough. If this is a 
matter of opinion, let them judge — if of reason, let it 
be decided by our repeated and solemn declarations, 
in all our public acts. This state of society unques- 
tionably tends, in various ways, to injure the mo- 
rals, and destroy the habits of industry among our 
people. This will be acknowledged by every person 
who has paid any attention to the subject, and it 
seems to be so generally admitted that it would pro- 
mote the happiness and the interests of the people, to 
provide a place where these people might be settled 
by themselves, that it is unnecessary to dwell on this 
branch of the subject. 

" As to the blacks, it is manifest that their interest 
and happiness would be promoted by collecting them 
together where they would enjoy equal rights and 
privileges with those around them. A state of deg- 
radation is necessarily a state of unhappiness. It de- 



108 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

bases the mind, it damps the energies of the soul, and 
represses every vigorous effort towards moral or intel- 
lectual greatness. How can you expect from them 
anything great or noble, without the motives to stim- 
ulate, or the rewards to crown, great and noble 
achievements ? It not only prevents their climbing 
the steep and rugged paths of fame, but it prevents 
the enjoyment of the true happiness of calm content- 
ment, satisfied with enjoying but a part of what we 
possess, of using only a portion of what is in our 
power. Take away, however, the portion that is not 
used, and it immediately becomes the object of our 
fondest desires. The more you endeavor to improve 
the condition of these people, the more you cultivate 
their minds, (unless by religious instruction,) the more 
miserable you make them, in their present state. 
You give them a higher relish for those privileges, 
which they can never attain, and you turn what we 
intend for a blessing into a curse. No, if they must 
remain in their present situation, keep them in the 
lowest state of degradation and ignorance. The more 
you bring them to the condition of brutes, the better 
chance do you give them of possessing their apathy. 
Surely, Americans ought to be the last people on earth 
to advocate such slavish doctrines ; to cry peace and 
contentment to those who are deprived of the privi- 
leges of civil liberty. They who have so largely par- 
taken of its blessings, who know so well how to esti- 
mate its value, ought to be the foremost to extend it 
toothers." Mr. Caldwell proceeds — 

" I will consider the practicability of colonization 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 109 

under three heads — the territory, the expense, and 
the probability of obtaining their consent. 

1. The territory. Various plans have been men- 
tioned by different persons. A situation within our 
own territory would certainly possess some consider- 
able advantage. It would be more immediately under 
the eye and control of our own government. But 
there are some real and some apprehended evils to 
encounter. Many apprehend that they might here- 
after join the Indians, or the nations bordering on 
our frontiers, in case of war, if they were placed so 
near us — that the colony would become the asylum of 
fugitives and runaway slaves. Added to these diffi- 
culties, there are inveterate prejudices against such a 
plan in so large a portion of the country, which it 
would be impossible to overcome or remove. Upon 
mature reflection, with all the light that has yet been 
shed upon the subject, I believe it will be found that 
Africa will be liable to the fewest objections. A ter- 
ritory might, no doubt, be procured there ; the cli- 
mate is best adapted to their constitution, and they 
could live cheaper. But, Mr. Chairman, I hwve a 
greater and nobler object in view in desiring them to 
be placed in Africa. It is the belief that through 
them civilization and the Christian religion would be 
introduced into that benighted quarter of the world. 
It is the hope of redeeming many millions from the 
lowest state of superstition and ignorance, and restor- 
ing them to the knowledge and worship of the true 
God. Great and powerful as are the other motives 
of this measure, (and I acknowledge them to be of 
10 



110 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

sufficient magnitude to attract the attention, and to 
call for the united efforts of this nation) in my opin- 
ion, and you will find it the opinion of a large class 
of the community, all other motives are small and 
trifling, compared with the hope of spreading among 
them the knowledge of the gospel. From the import- 
ance of this view of the subject, permit me to enlarge 
a little upon it. Whatever may be the difference of 
opinion among the different denominations of Chris- 
tians, I believe they will all be found to unite in the 
belief, that the scriptures predict a time when the 
Gospel of Jesus Christ shall be spread over every 
part of the world — shall be acknowledged by every 
nation, and perhaps shall influence every heart. The 
opinion is, perhaps as general, that this glorious and 
happy day is near at hand. The great movements 
and mighty efforts in the moral and religious world 
seem to indicate some great design of Providence on 
the eve of accomplishment. The unexampled and 
astonishing success attending the numerous and vari- 
ous plans which have been devised, and which are in 
operation now in different parts of the world, and the 
union and harmony with which Christians of different 
denominations unite in promoting these plans, clearly 
indicate a divine hand in their direction. Nay, sir, 
the subject on which we arc now deliberating has been 
brought to public view, nearly at the same time, in 
different parts of our country. In New Jersey, New 
York, Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia, and perhaps 
other places not known to me, the public attention 
seems to have been awakened, as from a slumber, to 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. Ill 

this subject. The belief that I have mentioned leads 
Christians to look with anxious solicitude, and joyful 
hope, to every movement which they believe to be in- 
strumental in accomplishing the great designs of 
Providence. They will receive your proposal with 
joy and support it with zeal ; and, permit me to say, 
that it will be of no small consequence to gain the 
zealous support and co-operation of this portion of 
the community. 

On the subject of expense, I should hope there 
would not be much difference of opinion. All are in- 
terested, though some portions are more immediately 
so than others. We should consider that what affects 
a part of our country is interesting to the whole. 
Besides, it is a great national object, and ought to be 
supported by a national purse. And, as has been 
justly observed by the honorable gentlemen in the 
chair, there ought to be a national atonement for the 
wrongs and injuries which Africa has suffered. For 
although the State legislatures commenced early after 
our independence to put a stop to the slave trade, and 
the National Government interfered as soon as the 
Constitution would permit, yet as a nation we cannot 
rid ourselves entirely from the guilt and disgrace at- 
tending that iniquitous traffic until we, as a nation, 
have made every reparation in our power. If, how- 
ever, more funds are wanting than it is thought expe- 
dient to appropriate out of the public Treasury, the 
liberality and humanity of our citizens will not suffer 
it to fail for want of pecuniary aid. I should be 
sorry, however, to see our government dividing any 



112 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

part df the glorj and honor which cannot fail of at- 
tending the accomplishment of a work so great, so 
interesting, and which will tend so much to diffuse the 
blessings of civil liberty, and promote the happiness 
of man. 

Among the objections which have been made, I 
must confess that I am most surprised at one which 
seems to be prevalent, to wit, that these people will 
be unwilling to be colonized. What, sir, are they not 
men ? Will they not be actuated by the same mo- 
tives of interest and ambition, which influence other 
men ? or will they prefer remaining in a hopeless 
state of degradation for themselves and their chil- 
dren, to the prospect of the full enjoyment of their 
civil rights and a state of equality ? What brought 
our ancestors to these shores ? They had no friendly 
hand to lead them — no powerful arm to protect them. 
They left the land of their nativity, the sepulchres 
of their fathers, the comforts of civilized society, and 
all the endearments of friends, and relatives, and early 
associations — to traverse the ocean, to clear the forests, 
to encounter all the hardships of a new settlement, 
and to brave the dangers of the tomahawk and scalp- 
ing-knife. How many were destroyed ! Sometimes 
whole settlements cut off by disease and hunger, by 
the treachery and cruelty of the savages ; yet were 
they not discouraged. What is it impels many Eu- 
ropeans daily to seek our shores, and to sell them- 
selves — for the prime of their life— to defray the 
expenses of their passages ? It is that ruling, im- 
perious desire, planted in the breast of every man — 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 113 

the desire of liberty, of standing upon an equality 
with his fellow-men. If we w^ere to add to these 
motives, the offer of land, and to aid in the expense 
of emigration and of first settling — they cannot be so 
blind to their own interests, so devoid of every gen- 
erous and noble feeling, as to hesitate about accept- 
ing the offer. It is not a matter of speculation and 
opinion only. It has been satisfactorily ascertained, 
that numbers will gladly accept of the invitation. 
And w4ien once the colony is formed and flourishing, 
all other obstacles will be easily removed. It is for 
us to make the experiment and the ofi'er ; we shall 
then, and not till then, have discharged our duty. It 
is a plan in which all interests, all classes and de- 
scriptions of people may unite, in which all discord 
and feelings may be lost in those of humanity — in 
promoting "peace on earth and good will to men." 

This speaker having concluded, the Hon. John 
Randolph followed, and began by saying : " That it 
had been properly observed by the chairman, that 
there was nothing in the proposition submitted to 
consideration which, in the smallest degree, touched 
another very important and delicate question, which 
ouo-ht to be left as much out of view as possible. 
But it appeared to him, that it had not been suffi- 
ciently insisted on, with a view to obtain the co- 
operation of all the citizens of the United States — 
not only that this meeting does not, in any wise, 
affect the question of Negro slavery, but, as far as it 
goes, must materially tend to secure the property of 
every master in the United States over his slaves. 

10* 



114 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

It appeared to him, that this aspect of the question 
had not been sufficiently presented to the public view. 
It was a notorious fact, that the existence of this 
mixed and intermediate population of free negroes 
was viewed by every slaveholder as one of the great- 
est sources of the insecurity and unprofitableness of 
slave property ; — that they serve to excite in their 
fellow-beings a feeling of discontent, of repining at 
their situation, and they act as channels of communi- 
cation, not only between different slaves, but between 
the slaves- of different districts; — that they are the 
depositories of stolen goods, and the promoters of 
mischief. In a worldly point of view, then, without 
entering into the general question, and apart from 
those higher and nobler motives which had been pre- 
sented to the meeting, the owners of slaves were in- 
terested in providing a retreat for this part of our 
population. There was no fear that this proposition 
would alarm them ; — they had been accustomed to 
think seriously of the subject. There was a popular 
work on Agriculture, by John Taylor, of Caroline 
county, which was widely circulated, and much con- 
fided in, in Virginia. In that book, much read, be- 
cause coming from a practical man, this description 
of people was pointed out as a great evil. If a place 
could be provided for their reception, and a mode of 
sending them hence, there were hundreds, nay, thou- 
sands of citizens, who would by manumitting their 
slaves, relieve themselves from the cares attendant 
upon their possession." 

The Hon. Robert Wright, of Maryland, added a 



BIOORAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 115 

few remarks, as follows : " That he could not with- 
hold his approbation from a measure that had for its 
object, the melioration of the lot of any portion of 
the human race, particularly of the free people of co- 
lor, whose degraded state robs them of the happiness 
of self-government, so dear to the American people. 
And," said he, *' as I discover the most delicate re- 
gard to the rights of property, I shall with great 
pleasure lend my aid to restore this unfortunate 
people to the enjoyment of their liberty; but I fear 
gentlemen are too sanguine in their expectations — 
that they would be willing to abandon the land of 
their nativity, so dear to man. However, I have the 
disposition to give them that election, by furnishing 
all the means contemplated. But while we wish to 
promote the happiness of these free people of color, 
we ought to take care not to furnish the means of 
transporting out of the reach of the master his pro- 
perty." 

These addresses being concluded, Elias B. Caldwell, 
Esqr., offered the following resolutions, to wit : 

Resolved, That an association or society be formed, 
for the purpose of collecting information and to as- 
sist in the formation and execution of a plan for the 
colonization of the free people of color, with their 
consent, in Africa, or elsewhere, as may be thought 
most advisable by the constituted authorities of the 
country. 

Resolved, That Elias B. Caldwell, John Randolph, 
Richard Rush, Walter Jones, Francis S. Key, Ro- 
bert Wright, James H. Blake, and John Peter, be a 



116 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

committee to present a respectful memorial to Con- 
gress, requesting them to adopt such measures as 
may be thought most advisable for procuring a terri- 
tory in Africa, or elsewhere, suitable for the coloni- 
zation of the free people of color. 

Resolved, That Francis S. Key, Bushrod Washing- 
ton, Elias B. Caldwell, James Breckinridge, Walter 
Jones, Richard Rush, and William G. D. Worthing- 
ton, be a committee to prepare a constitution and 
rules for the government of the association or society 
above-mentioned, and report the same to the next 
meeting for consideration. 

On motion, the assembly adjourned to meet on the 
next Saturday, in the Hall of the House of Repre- 
sentatives.* 

The committee appointed for the purpose, at the 
adjourned meeting on the following Saturday, re- 
ported the following constitution, which was unani- 
mously adopted, viz. : 

Article I. This Society shall be called "The 
American Society for Colonizing the Free People of 
Color of the United States." 

Article II. The object to which its attention is 
to be exclusively directed, is to promote and execute 
a plan, for colonizing (with their consent) the free 
people of color residing in our country, in Africa, or 
such other places as Congress shall deem most expe- 
dient. And the Society shall act, to effect this ob- 

''' Before the adjounimeut, it was, " On motion of Mr. Herbert, 
resolved unanimously, that the Rev. Robert Finley be requested 
to close the meeting with an address to the Throne of Grace." 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FTNLEY. 117 

ject, in co-operation with the General Government, 
and such of the States as may adopt regulations 
upon the sii Inject. 

Article III. Every citizen of the United States, 
who shall subscribe these articles and be an annual 
contributor of one dollar to the funds of the Society, 
shall be a member. On paying a sum not less than 
thirty dollars, at one subscription, he shall be a 
member for life. 

Article IV. The officers of this Society shall be, 
a President, thirteen Vice-Presidents, a Secretary, 
a Treasurer, a Recorder — and a Board of Mana- 
gers, composed of the above-named officers, and 
twelve other members of the Society. They shall be 
annually elected by the members of the Society, at 
their annual meeting on New Year's day, (except 
when that happens to be the Sabbath, and then the 
next day,) and continue to discharge their respective 
duties till others are appointed. 

Article V. It shall be the duty of the President 
to preside at all meetings of the Society, and of the 
Board of Managers ; and to call meetings of the So- 
ciety and of the Board, when he thinks it necessary, 
or when requested by any three members of the 
Board. 

Article VI. The Vice-Presidents, according to 
seniority, shall discharge these duties in the absence 
of the President. 

Article VII. The Secretary shall take minutes 
of the proceedings, prepare and publish notices, and 
discharge such other duties as the Board, or the Presi- 



118 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

dent, or in his absence the Vice-President according 
to seniority, (when the Board is not sitting,) shall 
direct. And the Recorder shall record the proceed- 
ings and the names of the members, and discharge 
such other duties as may be required of him. 

Article VIII. The Treasurer shall receive and 
take charge of the funds of the Society, under such 
security as may be prescribed by the Board of Mana- 
gers ; keep the accounts, and exhibit a statement of 
receipts and expenditures, at every annual meeting ; 
and discharge such other duties as may be required 
of him. 

Article IX. The Board of Managers shall meet 
on the first Monday in January, the first Monday in 
April, the first Monday in July, and the first Mon- 
day in October, every year, and at such other times 
as the President may direct. They shall conduct 
the business of the Society, and take such measures 
for effecting its object as they shall think proper, or 
shall be directed at the meetings of the Society, and 
make an annual report of their proceedings. They 
shall also fill up all vacancies occurring during the 
year, and make such by-laws for their government 
as they may deem necessary ; provided the same are 
not repugnant to this Constitution. 

Article X. Every society which shall be formed 
in the United States to aid in the object of this as- 
sociation, and which shall co-operate with its funds 
for the purposes thereof, agreeably to the rules and 
regulations of this Society, shall be considered aux- 
iliary thereto ; and its ofiicers shall be entitled to 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 119 

attend and vote at all the meetings of the Society, 
and of the Board of Managers. 

The Society being now constituted, by the unani- 
mous adoption of these Articles, met on the first day 
of January, 1817, and elected the following officers : 
President — Hon. Bushrod AYashington. 

Vice-Presidents — Hon. William H. Crawford, of 
Georgia; Hon. Henry Clay, of Kentucky; Hon. Wil- 
liam Phillips, of Massachusetts ; Col. Henry Rutgers, 
of New York ; Hon. John E. Howard, Hon. Samuel 
Smith, and the Hon. John C. Herbert, of Maryland ; 
John Taylor, Esqr., of Virginia ; Gen. And. Jackson, 
of Tennessee ; Robert Ralston and Richard Rush, 
Esqrs., of Pennsylvania; Gen. John Mason, of Dis- 
trict of Columbia ; Rev. Robert Finley, of New 
Jersey. 

Secretary — E. B. Caldwell. 

Recording Secretary — W. G. D. Worthington. 

Treasurer — David English. 

Measures were commenced immediately by the 
Society, for bringing this subject as speedily as pos- 
sible before Congress, in a respectful memorial^ re- 
questing them to procure a territory in Africa, or 
elsetuhere, suitable for the colonization of the free 
people of color. 

This noble organization was then complete. It is 
one of which Americans may well be proud. The 
day which gave it birth, commenced a new era in 
the history of the abolition of African bondage,* 

«- Though designed to colonize only free people of color, it 
opened an easy and safe channel for emancipation to those masters 
(and there were many such) who desired to free their slaves. 



120 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

degradation, and wretchedness, in the free republic of 
America. It opens a wide extended field for noble 
enterprise and ambition in the march of American 
benevolence. The man who conceived this benefi- 
cent plan, or in any considerable degree excited the 
impulse and directed the movements which resulted 
in the formation of the Society above referred to — 
let the system instituted prosper or perish — deserves 
to be placed with Clarkson and Wilberforce, with 
Howard and Thornton, among the distinguished 
lovers and benefactors of mankind. Finley, in the 
hand of God, is believed to have been that man. 

It was regarded as an auspicious circumstance, in 
this business, and a source of much gratification, that 
the name of Washington — with w^hich we are accus- 
tomed to associate everything wise and patriotic in 
council, magnanimous and beneficent in action — was 
placed at the head of this great Colonization Society. 

Dr. Finley's journey to the seat of Government, 
and his continued exertions there for several succes- 
sive weeks, proved very beneficial to his health ; — 
and the complete success which crowned his efi'orts, 
gave so pleasing an excitement to his spirits, that he 
returned home in a state of mind and body much in- 
vigorated and improved. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Arrives at Philadelphia — Operations there — Establishes an 

AUXILIARY in TrENTON, New JERSEY — KECEIVED AN INVITATION AT 

Washington to settle there — Declined — Capt. Paul Cupfee's 
LETTER — Letter of E. B. Caldwell and others — Copy of his 
thoughts on Colonization afterwards published. 

On his return from Washington to Philadelphia, 
he was much grieved to find the people of color in 
that city filled with painful alarms and apprehen- 
sions, respecting the nature and object of the Coloni- 
zation Society, so recently instituted at "Washington. 
The suspicions and fears of these people had been 
excited in a -very considerable degree, by means of 
mistaken or mischievous statements received among 
them, purporting to have been communicated from 
Washington, and representing in substance, that the 
Society established there Avas designed to remove the 
free people of color in a forcible manner from this 
country, without making provision for their support 
and comfort. Their prejudice thus inspired, had un- 
happily been strengthened by erroneous suggestions 
from certain persons residing in the city. This un- 
happy state of things Mr. Finley endeavored im- 
mcdiateW to remedy, by his personal presence and 
influence. 

The following representation of the measures he 
11 



122 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

adopted for that purpose, has been obligingly fur- 
nished by a gentleman who received the statement 
from himself, and of whose correctness there can be 
no reasonable doubt : — 

" Dr. Finley had been on a visit to Washington. 
Having returned as far as Philadelphia, he there met 
the Rev. John Gloucester, and from conversation with 
him, found that there was a considerable perturbation 
in the minds of the people of color, produced by the 
proceedings at Washington relative to their coloniza- 
tion. This was immediately after public notice of this 
business had been taken at Washington. A meeting 
of the people of color had been called at Philadel- 
phia, and a committee of twelve had been appointed 
by them, to take this subject into consideration. Dr. 
Finley requested an interview with this committee, 
and obtained it — eleven out of the twelve attending. 
He found that they w^ere considerably alarmed at the 
proposed plan of colonization, and strongly preju- 
diced against it, suspecting that some purpose inju- 
rious to their class of people was hidden under it. 
He spent nearly an hour in conversing with them on 
that point, endeavoring to remove their fears and 
prejudices, pointing them to the character of the 
gentlemen who advocated the scheme, and showing 
the advantages which would probably result from it. 
At length they declared themselves fully satisfied as 
to this point, that the designs of the gentlemen who 
proposed and advocated the scheme were benevolent 
and good, and that the thing in itself was desirable 
for them. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 123 

" Having removed this difficulty, the next question 
was, Where will be a suitable place for colonization ? 
On this point there was a division : some thought they 
should have a part of our back and uncultivated lands 
allowed them ; others thought Africa would be the 
most suitable place. Two names in particular I re- 
collect he mentioned as decided on this last point — 
John Foster and Richard Allen. J. F., he observed, 
was animated on the subject. He said their people 
would become a great nation : he pointed to Hayti, 
and declared it as his opinion that their people could 
not always be detained in their present bondage ; he 
remarked on the peculiarly oppressive situation of 
his people in our land — observing that neither riches 
nor education could put them on a level with the 
whites, and the more wealthy and the better informed 
any of them became, the more wretched they were 
made ; for they felt their degradation more acutely. 
He gave it as his decided opinion that Africa was the 
proper place for a colony. He observed to those 
present, that should they settle anywhere in the vici- 
nity of the whites, their condition must become be- 
fore many years as bad as it now is, since the white 
population is continually rolling back, and ere long 
they must be encompassed again with whites. 

" R. A. spoke with warmth on some oppressions 
which they suffer from the whites, and spoke warmly 
in favor of colonization in Africa — declaring that were 
he young he would go himself. He spoke of the ad- 
vantages of the colony of Sierra Leone, and highly 
of Paul Cuffee. He considered the present plan of 



124 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

colonization as holding out great advantages for the 
blacks who are now joung. 

" The committee of whom I speak were of the most 
respectable class of blacks. So far as I recollect, 
this is the substance of what Dr. Finley told me. As 
far as I have gone, you may rely on facts." 

This communication is introduced chiefly to show 
with what steadfastness, solicitude, and indefatigable 
diligence Mr. Finley prosecuted this noble object. 
It may teach us also with what sentiments this be- 
nevolent system wilt probably be viewed by the more 
enlightened, moral, and respectable part of the 
people of color, in cool, dispassionate, and reflecting 
moments, when their suspicion and prejudice are in 
some measure removed by proper exj)lanations of 
the nature and design, benefits and prospects of this 
society. 

Mr. Finley arrived at home about the middle of 
January, 1817. The legislature of New Jersey were 
then in session, which usually attracts to the seat of 
government a considerable number of respectable in- 
dividuals, besides the representatives from the several 
counties in the State. Deeply interested in the pro- 
gress of the colonization scheme, and anxious to em- 
brace every opportunity of prosecuting its interests, 
after a short repose at home, he visited Trenton, with 
a view to attempt the formation of a subordinate colo- 
nization society for the State of New Jersey.* On 

* The folloAving memorial Avhieh had been previously jDrinted 
and circulated, will suggest to the reader another motive that in- 
fluenced Mr. Finlev in the visit here mentioned : — 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 125 

his arrival at the seat of government, he found exist- 
ing a spirit of indifference to this great object, bor- 
dering, in some instances, on hostility. After he had 
spent some time in endeavoring to remove these pre- 
judices, and to conciliate those who appeared to be 
indifferent or disaffected, a public meeting was held 
in the State House, at which, notwithstanding the 
extreme inclemency of the weather, a number of the 
principal citizens of Trenton, many members of the 
legislature, and a considerable number of gentlemen 
of distinction from different parts of the State at- 

" To the Honorable the Legislature of New Jersey. 

" The Memorial and Petition of the subscribers, inhabitants of 
New Jersey, showeth that they have viewed with great interest 
and concern the present condition and future prospects of the free 
people of color in this and our sister States. While the love of 
liberty, and the feelings of humanity have produced the emanci- 
pation of a great number of these people, and are gradually effect- 
ing the freedom of the rest ; it is with much regret that your peti- 
tioners observe the degraded situation in which those who have 
been freed from slavery remain — and from a variety of consi- 
derations, will probably remain while they continue among the 
whites. 

" To enable them to rise to that condition to which they are 
entitled by the laws of God and nature, it appears desirable, and 
even necessary, to separate them from their former masters, and 
place them in some favorable situation by i\\Qm?>Q\\QS— perhaps in 
Africa, the land of their fathers. It is therefore respectfully re- 
quested of the legislature to instruct, by resolution or otherwise, 
the senators and representatives from the State of New Jersey, to 
lay before the Congress, at their next meeting, as a subject of 
consideration, the expediency of forming a colony on the coast of 
Africa, or elsewhere, where such of the people of color as are now 
free, or may be hereafter set free, may with their own consent be 
removed : and your petitioners will, as in duty bound, ever pray."' 

11* 



126 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

tended. The proposal for establishing a colonization 
society,* auxiliary to that formed at Washington, 
was agreed to ; a plan of a constitution for the same 
was prepared and adopted, and officers were ap- 
pointed for the ensuing year. 

The following extract from a letter, received by 
Mr. Finley from Paul Cuffee, will be read with in- 
terest : — 

""Westport, First month (January) 8, 1817. 

" I received thy letter of the 5th ult. not in time 
to answer thee at Washington. I observed in the 
printed petition in thy letter, the great and laborious 
task you are engaged in, and my desires are that 
you may be guided by wisdom's best means. I stand 
as it were in a low place, and am not able to see far. 
But, blessed be God, who hath created all things, 
and who is able to make use of instruments as best 
pleaseth Him, and may I be resigned to his holy 
will. The population of Sierra Leone, in 1811, was 
two thousand, and one thousand in the suburbs. 
Since that time they have not been numbered ; — but 
from 1811 to 1815, I think the colony has much im- 
proved. They are entitled to every privilege of free- 
horn citizens, and fill stations in their courts.'' 

The society for colonizing the free people of color, 
established at Washington, December 1816, held its 
first anniversary, on Thursday the first of January, 

* This society was neglected for some years — the minutes lost 
— afterwards revived at Princeton ; and is now iu operation. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 127 

1818, in the chamber of the House of Representa- 
tives. The appropriate address with which the lion. 
Bushrbd Washington, president of the society, opened 
the meeting, presents the following valuable and 
pleasing intimations, with regard to the operations 
and prospects of the society : — 

" From every quarter of the United States, the 
aspirations of good men have been breathed to 
Heaven for the success of our future labors. 

" Among a small but opulent society of slave- 
holders in Virginia, a subscription has been raised by 
the zealous exertions of a few individuals, of such mag- 
nitude as to illustrate the extent of the funds which 
we may hope hereafter to command, and to induce a 
confident hope that our labors will be awarded by the 
willing contributions of a generous and enlightened 
people. 

" Other public spirited individuals have forborne 
to make similar efforts, until the success of our pre- 
paratory measures shall have been clearly ascer- 
tained. 

" The society have engaged two agents to explore 
the Western coasts of Africa, and to collect such in- 
formation as may assist the government of the United 
States in selecting a suitable district on that conti- 
nent for the proposed settlement. The performance 
of this preliminary duty has been confided to Samuel 
J. Mills and Ebenezer Burgess, gentlemen possessing 
all the qualifications requisite for the important trust 
confided to them ; and their report may reasonably 
be expected before the next annual meeting of the 
society." 



128 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

The following interesting paragraphs are extracted 
from the first annual report of the Board of Managers, 
read at the anniversary of the society : — 

" The first step of the Board of Managers was to 
present a memorial to Congress at their last session, 
which, with the report of the committee to whom it 
was referred, is now laid before the society. The 
nature and novelty of the subject, not less than the 
mass of business which engaged the deliberations of 
that body, did not permit them to pursue the report. 

" We are happy to state that auxiliary societies* 
have been formed in Baltimore, Philadelphia, New 
York, Virginia, and Ohio; and the Board have re- 
ceived information of the intention of forming other 
societies in different parts of the country. The ex- 
tension of these auxiliaries is of the first importance, 
as it is by their means the public mind must be en- 
lightened on the great and important objects of the 
society ; and it is through them, in some measure, 
the necessary funds must be drawn for its support." 

With regard to the objection founded on the " sup- 
posed repugnance of the colonists," this report fur- 
nishes the following animated information. 

" The Managers have ascertained that there are 
numbers of the highest standing for intelligence and 
respectability among that class of people, who are 
warmly in favor of the plan, from a conviction that 
it will, if accomplished, powerfully co-operate in 

* To this number might have been added the auxiliary society 
of New Jersey — which was the first ever formed, in the order of 
time, about the middle of January, 181 7, at Trenton. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FIN LEY. 129 

placing the situation of their brethren here and in 
Africa, in that scale of happiness and respectability 
among the nations of the earth, from which they 
have long been degraded. 

^' Offers of service have been received from many 
worthy and influential individuals of their own color, 
and from a number of families from different parts of 
the United States, to become the first settlers in the 
colony whenever a suitable situation shall be pro- 
cured. The Managers can with confidence state 
their belief, that they would have no difiiculty in 
procuring individuals among them w^orthy of trust 
and confidence, to explore the country if necessary, 
and to plant a colony of sufiicient strength to secure 
its safety and prosperity. This being accomplished, 
there can be no difficulty in presenting its importance 
to their brethren, in such a manner, and with such 
unquestionable testimony, as must command their 
fullest confidence." 

The manner in which the death of Dr. Finley is 
noticed in the close of this report is particularly grat- 
ifying. 

"The managers. cannot pass the occasion without 
noticing the death of the Rev. Dr. Finley, one of the 
vice presidents, during the past year. The deep in- 
terest which he took in the success of the society, and 
the zeal he displayed in its formation, are well known 
to many present. In his last sickness, he was much 
gratified upon receiving information of the progress of 
the society, and of its prospects of success. It gave 
consolation to his last moments. When we view the 



130 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

society in this early stage of its proceedings, as ani- 
mating the hopes and cheering the prospects of the 
dying Christian who had been engaged in its service, 
when we view it as consecrated by the prayers of the 
pious, may we not be led with humble confidence to 
look to the good hand of an overruling Providence to 
guide its deliberations ? May we not expect the ben- 
edictions of millions yet unborn shall bless its anniver- 
sary ?" 

At this anniversary the following important intelli- 
gence was communicated in a concise address by the 
eloquent and humane Mercer, of Virginia, to whose 
talents, influence, and liberality, this enterprise is en- 
couraged to look with high expectation. 

"Many thousand individuals, you well know, Mr. 
President, are restrained," said Mr. M., " from manu- 
mitting their slaves, as you and I are, by the melan- 
choly conviction that they cannot yield to the sugges- 
tions of humanity without manifest injury to their 
country. 

" The rapid increase of the free people of color, by 
which their number was extended in the ten years 
preceding the last census of the United States from 
15 to 30,000, if it has not endangered our peace, has 
impaired the value of all the private property in a 
large section of our country. Upon our low lands, 
said Mr. Mercer, it seems as if some malediction had 
been shed. The habitations of our fathers have sunk 
into ruins, the fields which they tilled have become a 
wilderness. Such is the table land between the val- 
leys of our great rivers. Those newly grown, and 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. Vll 

almost impenetrable, thickets, which have succeeded 
a wretched cultivation, shelter and conceal a banditti, 
consisting of this degraded, idle, and vicious popula- 
tion, who sally forth from their coverts, beneath the 
obscurity of night, and plunder the rich proprietors of 
the valleys. They infest the suburbs of the towns 
and cities, where they become the depositories of sto- 
len goods, and, schooled by necessity, elude the vigi- 
lance of our defective police. 

" The laws of Virginia now discourage, and very 
wisely perhaps, the emancipation of slaves. But the 
very policy on which they are founded, will afford 
every facility to emancipation, when the colonization 
of the slave will be the consequence of his libera- 
tion." 

In the course of Mr. Finley's visit at the seat of 
government he preached frequently, and the people 
who attended his ministrations in \Yashington, and its 
vicinity, became exceedingly pleased and interested 
in him as a minister of the Gospel. My very respect- 
able correspondent in that city has communicated the 
following concise and satisfactory statement on that 
subject. 

" During his stay there, Mr. Finley was much en- 
gaged in preaching and visiting. He preached in 
Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria, several 
times, and to the very great acceptance of the peo- 
ple. I never saw a preacher in this District that 
gained more of the public affection in the short time 
he was among us. He received a unanimous call to 
the Presbyterian church in this city, and I believe 



132 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

would have settled here, but for some previous engage- 
ments to Georgia which were urged upon him. The 
people were greatly disappointed upon hearing that 
he would not settle among us. Our congregation is 
small and poor, yet the salary was more than doubled 
to enable him to come. At a meeting of the commit- 
tee of 'the church and the elders, of eight persons, five 
hundred dollars were subscribed, in addition to their 
usual subscriptions, to enable Mr. Finley to settle 
here." 

The following communications from highly respect- 
able gentlemen residing in the District of Columbia, 
will give a comprehensive, judicious, and candid view, 
of his transactions during his visit at the Seat of Crov- 
ernment. 

"Washingtox, July 8th, 1818. 
Rev. Isaac V. Brown, 

''Dear Sir: I owe you an apology for my long si- 
lence on a subject interesting to me as well as your- 
self. 

" I have been continually under an intention of 
writing, but have been prevented from time to time, 
and am now unable to do more than to glance at a 
few circumstances. 

" Mr. Finley arrived in Washington about the 1st 
of December, 1816. His journey was partly for the 
benefit of his health, and partly with the intent of vis- 
iting Georgia. But one leading design, and one that 
seemed to be most interesting to him, was the for- 
warding of the colonization plan. Shortly after he 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 133 

arrived, he opened to me his views on the subject. I 
had been contemplating the same object from the pre- 
ceding winter ; I was, therefore, prepared to enter at 
once into his feelings. Immediately after this, he 
began seriously to make arrangements preparatory to 
a meeting of the citizens. He visited several Mem- 
bers of Congress, the President, the Heads of Depart- 
ments, and others. He reviewed a piece, " Thoughts, 
&c.," which he had ^vritten previous to his coming 
here, which -we published, and wliich I send you, with 
two other pamphlets relative to the same subject. His 
heart, during the whole of this time, was much en- 
gaged, and he said he w^ould cheerfully give out of his 
limited means, five hundred dollars, to insure the suc- 
cess of the scheme. His conversation and zeal had a 
considerable influence in collecting people to the meet- 
ing, and in conciliating many who at first appeared 
opposed. He proposed a prayer meeting, for the suc- 
cess of the meeting, the evening previous to the day 
appointed for it, which was held, and in which he was 
earnestly engaged in prayer. The pamphlet accom- 
panying this will give you some view of the subject. 
"It will be impossible to form an opinion of what 
was done at that time, without having a vicAV of the 
state of the public at the time of bringing forward the 
question for public consideration. A few persons had 
barely thought of the subject, but, in general, had 
hastily dismissed it as wholly impracticable. I be- 
lieve the greater part of the persons at first assem- 
bled, were brought there from curiosity, or by the 
solicitation of their friends, viewing the scheme as too 
12 



134 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

chimerical for any rational being to undertake. A 
very great change was there produced, which has been 
gradually increasing from that time. The organiza- 
tion of the society at that time may be principally 
attributed to Mr. Finley's presence here, as it was 
greatly promoted by his zeal, his assiduity, and his 
knowledge of the subject; as his pamphlet shows 
that his thoughts had been much occupied with it." 

E. B. Caldwell. 

"November 10th, 1818. 
" Ret. and Dear Sir : — 

" You ask, sir, what agency Dr. Finley exerted in 
the formation of the Colonization Society within the 
District of Columbia ? I answer, he was tJie sole 
mover and promoter of it, nor did he leave tlie Dis 
trict until it was organized, cmd put into operation. 
His last public act in the last public meeting, was to 
make, by the request of Mr. Herbert, then a member 
of Congress, one of the most solemn prayers for its 
success. When Mr. Finley came here I tvas not ac- 
quainted with him, but he soon developed his ideas to 
me upon the subject, which you may be sure met with 
my most decided approbation. He got introductions 
to the Heads of Departments, and to Mr. Madison 
himself, told them all what he thought upon the sub- 
ject, the good he thought would result from it. Some 
laughed, others wondered, but he remained unshaken 
in his purpose, and told me once wlien we were walk- 
ing together, 'I know this scheme is from God !' 

"I must not conceal, however, that in the Virginia 
assembly, wliich met that fall, a motion was made to 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FTNLEY. 185 

colonize the free people of color upon the shores of 
the Pacific Ocean, somewhere near the mouth of the 

river ; and I think Mr. Finley's doings here 

were known to that assembly. 

" If this colony should ever be formed in Africa, 
great injustice will be done to Mr. Finley if, in the 
history of it, his name be not mentioned as the first 
mover, and if some town or district in the colony be 
not culled Finlei/.'' 

These letters, from ei/e witnesses of Mr. Finley's 
indefatigable efi"orts, partakers in his counsels and ex- 
ertions, place his conduct, on that important and 
interesting occasion, in a just and honorable point of 
view. Mr. Finley's " Thoughts on the colonization of 
free blacks,"* are an important and original p7vduc- 
tion. The valuable information which it contains — 
the excellent spirit it breathes — and the traits of orig- 
inality of matter and manner which it exhibits, ren- 
der it highly deserving of an insertion in this narra- 
tive. Full of thought and of zeal, he brings you at 
once, without the formality of an introduction, to the 
main point of discussion. "What shall we do with 
the free people of color ? What can we do for their 
happiness, consistently with our own, are questions 
often asked by the thinking mind. The desire to 
make them happy has often been felt, but the diffi- 
culty of devising and accomplishing an efficient plan, 
has hitherto appeared too great for humanity itself to 
accomplish. The mind shrunk back from the attempt. 

* Referred to ia Mr. Caldweirs letter prcccdiiio;. 



136 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

The time had not arrived. The servitude of the sons 
of Ham, described bj Noah in the spirit of prophecy, 
concerning the futui e condition of his posterity, was 
not terminated. At present, as if by a divine im- 
pulse, men of virtue, piety, and reflection, are turning 
their thoughts to this subject, and seem to see the 
wished for plan unfolding, in the gradual separation 
of the black from the white population^ by providing 
for the former some suitable situation^ where they may 
enjoy the advantages to which they are entitled by na- 
ture and their Creator s will. This is a great sub- 
ject, and there are several weighty questions con- 
nected with it, which deserve a deep consideration. 

"Is it a practicable thing to form a colony of free 
blacks in our own wild lands, or on the coast of Af- 
rica? 

" Is it probable that the establishment would be 
productive of general happiness ? 

" What is the most desirable situation for such a 
settlement ? In what manner, and by whom might 
such a colony be planted with the greatest hope of 
success ? 

"Much wisdom would no doubt be required in ar- 
ranging a plan of so much magnitude, and some per- 
severance in executing it and carrying it to perfection. 
But it cannot be supposed to be among the things 
which are impracticable, to plant a colony, either of 
blacks or whites, either in Africa or some remote dis- 
trict of our own country. Most nations have had 
their colonies. Greece and Rome planted many which 
grew and flourished, and which, as they grew, added 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 137 

strength and lustre to the mother country. At the 
present time there are few nations who have not their 
foreign settlements, and some of them from year to 
year are increasing the numbers of their colonies. 
With what ease is Great Britain transplanting a part of 
her population, in tfie remotest regions of the earth, and 
peopling New Holland — a land destined, like our own, 
to extend the empire of liberty and Christian bless- 
ings to surrounding nations.* It does not appear 
that it would require much greater skill or labor to 
form a separate establishment for free blacks in our 
own distant territories, than it is to form a new State. 
The people of color, observing the constant emigra- 
tion of the whites, would soon feel the common im- 
pulse, if they could see a place where they might re- 
move, and which they could fondly call their own. 
Many have both the means and disposition to go to 
any reasonable distance, or even to a great distance, 
where they could assume the rank of men, and act 
their part upon the great theatre of life. Their local 
attachments are no stronger than those of other men, 
their ambition no less than that of any other color. 

^' To colonize them in Africa would be a much more 
arduous undertaking. The country must be explored, 

* "It is a remarkable instance of the im-sterious and inscrutable 
ways of Providence, that the colony of New Holland, which is prin- 
cipally composed of British convicts, has become nourishing ; its 
inhabitants peaceable, orderly and industrious, and, through the 
instrumentality of missionaries, Christianity is flourishing among 
them ; and, through them, likely to extend civilization, and the 
benefits of the Christian religion, to the ignorant and superstitious 
natives of that country and the adjacent islands." 

12* 



188 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

and some situation chosen, fertile and healthy, expense 
must be incurred, in fair and honorable purchase from 
the natives, an honorable appeal perhaps be made to 
the nations of Europe, as to the justice and humanity 
of our views. An efficient government must, for a 
time at least, be aiforded to the colony — the free 
blacks must be instructed that it would be to their 
interest to remove to the land which gave them ori- 
gin, and instruction provided to raise their minds to 
that degree of knowledge, which in time would fit 
them for self government. These difficulties are real, 
and some of them might be found to be very great, 
but they are not insurmountable. We have wisdom 
in our councils, and energy in our government. In 
such an undertaking, we should have reason and the 
God of eternal justice on our side. Humanity has 
many a virtuous son, who would willingly and care- 
fully explore the long line of African coast, which 
has not fallen under the dominion of any European 
nation. Their devotedness to their country's interest 
and glory would make them faithful to their under- 
taking, and their desire for the happiness of the free 
people of color, would induce them, if possible, to find 
a country where health and plenty might be enjoyed. 
The consent of the chiefs to part with a sufficient por- 
tion of soil might be easily obtained, especially when 
they were informed that the sole design of the colony 
was to restore their own children, and bring them 
back, free and happy. From w^hat has often taken 
place on the coast of Africa, we may be assured that 
the cost of procuring the right of soil, by fair and just 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 139 

purchase, would not be great. The expense of con- 
veying the first settlers, of maintaining a sufiicient 
force to protect the colony, and of supplying the wants 
of the colonists for a short period, might be more con- 
siderable. Yet the wisdom of Congress might devise 
some means of lightening, perhaps of repaying, the 
cost. Many of the free people of color have property 
sufficient to transport, and afterwards to establish, 
themselves. The ships of war might be employed oc- 
casionally in this service, while many would indent 
themselves to procure a passage to the land of their 
independence. The crews of the national ships which 
might be from time to time at the colony, would fur- 
nish at least a part of that protection which would be 
necessary for the settlers ; and in a little time the 
trade which the colony would open with the interior, 
would more than compensate for every expense, if the 
colony were wisely formed. ' From the single river 
of Sierra Leone, where there is a colony of free peo- 
ple of color, the imports in Great Britain were nearly, 
and the exports to the same river, fully equal to the 
imports and exports, exclusive of the slave trade, of 
the whole extent of the western coast of Africa, prior 
to the abolition of that traffic.'* To allay the jeal- 
ousies of other nations, which might arise from our 
establishing a settlement in Africa, a successful ap- 
peal might be made to their justice and humanity. It 
would be only doing as they have done, should no such 
appeal be made. Spain has her settlements in Af- 
rica — France on the rivers Gambia and Senegal — 

*" Ninth Report of African Institution/' 



140 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

Great Britain at Sierra Leone and the Cape — Portu- 
gal in Congo and Loango. On the principles of jus- 
tice, no nation would have a right to interfere with 
our intentions. Moreover, in this period of the world, 
when the voice of justice and humanity begins to be 
listened to with attention, is there not reason to hope 
that plans, the sole design of which is the benefit of 
the human race, would be approved in the cabinets of 
princes, and hailed by the benevolent of all nations ? 
The colony would not suffer for want of instructors in 
morals, religion, and the useful arts of life. The time 
at last is come when not a few are imbibing the spirit 
of Him who came from Heaven " to seek and save the 
lost." That spirit is only beginning to go forth, 
which has already been so successful in teaching the 
Cafi"re, the Hottentot, the Boshemen, the means of 
present happiness and the way of eternal life. In the 
mean time the great efforts which are making to im- 
prove the mental condition of the people of color seems 
designed in Providence to prepare them for some 
great and happy change in their situation. 

^' It need not be apprehended, that these people 
would be unwilling to remove to the proposed estab- 
lishment. To suppose this, is to suppose that they 
do not long after happiness ; that they do not feel 
the common pride and feelings of men. In some 
of our great cities there are associations formed to 
open a correspondence with the colony at Sierra 
Leone, and prepare their minds for a removal to a 
colony should it be ever formed.* The colony at 

* " Such an association exists in Philadelphia." 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 141 

Sierra Leone on the western coast of Africa, seems 
as if desigiTdl by God to obviate every difficulty, to 
silence objections, and to point out the way in which 
every obstacle \n:\j be removed, if measures suffi- 
ciently wise are adopted in establishing a similar 
colony from this country. The colony alluded to 
was first established in the year 1791. Its first set- 
tlers were a few people of color who were in Great 
Britain, and from 1100 to 1200 of the same descrip- 
tion in Nova Scotia. In the year 1811, the popula- 
tion had increased to 2000 exclusive of many natives, 
notwithstanding the sickness and mortality incident 
to a new settlement, and the settlement being once 
destroyed by the French. In the year 1816, the 
population had increased to 3000.* All this has 
been accomplished, or at least it was originated and 
for many years maintained, by a company of benevo- 

* " Early in the winter of 1816, about tliirty people of color left 
Boston, with a view of settling themselves in the British colony 
at Sierra Leone, in Africa. The vessel in which they sailed, was 
the property and under the command of the celebrated Paul CufiTee. 
Captain Cuffee has returned to this country, and brings letters 
from the emigrants to their friends and benefactors. We have 
seen one of the letters, dated April 3, 1816. It states that they 
all arrived safe at Sierra Leone, after a passage of fifty-five days, 
and were welcomed by all in the colony. The place is represented 
as ' good.' They have fruits of all kinds, and all seasons of the year. 
The governor gave each family a lot of land in the town, and fifty 
acres of ' good land' in the country, or more in proportion to their 
families. Their land in the country is about two miles from town. 
They have plenty of rice and corn, and all other food that is good. 
There were five churches in the colony, and three or four schools ; 
in one of which there were one hundred and fifty female Africans, 
who are taught to read the word of God:'— The Boston Recorder. 



142 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

lent and enterprising men — bj men, too, who are far 
removed from those places where free blacks are to 
be found. What then might be done — under the 
blessing of that Being who w^ills the happiness of all 
his creatures — by the American government, aided 
by the benevolence of all its citizens, and surrounded 
with thousands who would be willing to emigrate, and 
many of whom could carry with them property, the 
useful arts of life, and above all, the knowledge of the 
benign religion of Christ. 

" Is it 'probable that the general good would be pro- 
moted by the establishment of such a colony ? If 
there is not reason to believe that it would be for the 
general benefit, the idea ought to be given up and 
the scheme rejected. But is there not reason to 
believe that the interest of the whites and the free 
people of color would be equally promoted, by the 
latter being colonized in some suitable situation ? It 
can scarcely be doubted that slavery has an injurious 
effect on the morals and habits of a country wdiere it 
exists. It insensibly induces a habit of indolence. 
Idleness seldom fails to be attended with dissipation. 
Should the "time ever come when slavery shall not 
exist in these States, yet if the people of color re- 
main among us, the effect of their presence will be 
unfavorable to our industry and morals. The recol- 
lection of their former servitude will keep alive the 
feeling that they were formed for labor, and that the 
descendants of their former masters ought to be 
exempt, at least, from the more humble and toilsome 
pursuits of life. The gradual Avithdrawing of the 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 143 

blacks would insensibly, and from an easy necessity 
induce habits of industry, and along with it a love of 
order and religion. Could they be removed to some 
situation wdicre they might live alone, society would 
be saved many a pang which now is felt, and must in 
course of time be much more sensibly felt from the in- 
termixture of the different colors, and at the same time 
be relieved from a heavy burden, in supporting that 
large portion of this people which falls into poverty 
and must be maintained by others. If the benefit of 
the proposed separation would be considerable to 
those States Avhere the people of color are compara- 
tively few, how great would it be to those where they 
are very numerous ? The love of liberty which pre- 
vails in those States, must be attended with a desire 
to see abolished a system so contrary to the best feel- 
ings of our natures. But however strong the desires 
of many, however lively the impressions of the great 
principles of right, or however pungent the convic- 
tions of a dying bed, it is believed to be unsafe to 
encourage the idea of emancipation. The evil there- 
fore increases every year, and the gloomy picture 
grows darker continuall}^ so that the question is often 
and anxiously asked — What ivill he the end of all 
this ? The most natural and easy answer seems to 
be ; — let no time be lost ; let a colony or colonies be 
formed on the coast of Africa; and let laws be passed 
permitting the emancipation of slaves on condition 
that they shall be colonized. By these means the 
evil of slavery will be diminished, and in a way so 
gradual as to prepare the whites for the happy and 
pi-ogrcssive change. 



144 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

" The benefits of the proposed plan to the race of 
blacks appear to be numerous and great. That they 
are capable of improvement is not to be contradicted ; 
and that their improvement progresses daily, not- 
withstanding every obstacle, is not denied. Their 
capacity for self-government, whether denied or not, 
is ever present to our view in the island of St. Do- 
mingo. But it is in vain that we believe them capa- 
ble of improvement, or that we are convinced that 
they are equal to the task of governing themselves, 
unless these unhappy people are separated from their 
former masters. The friends of man will strive in 
vain to raise them to a proper level while they re- 
main among us. They will be kept down, on the 
one side by prejudice, too deep-rooted to be eradi- 
cated; on the other by the recollection of former 
inferiority, and despair of ever assuming an equal 
standing in society. Remove them. Place them by 
themselves in some climate congenial with their color 
and constitutions, and in some fruitful soil ; their 
contracted minds will then expand, and their natures 
rise. The hope of place and power will soon create 
the feeling that they are men. Give them the hope 
of becoming possessed of power and influence, and 
the pleasure of their invigorated minds will be simi- 
lar to ours in like circumstances. At present they 
have few incentives to industry and virtue, compared 
with those, which they w^ould feel, in a land which 
they could call their own, and Avhere there was no 
competition except with their own color. 

'' This great enterprise must be undel'taken, cither 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 145 

by a union of virtuous and pious individuals — as in 
the case of the colony of Sierra Leone ; or by the 
government of the United States. Perhaps on ma- 
ture deliberation, it might appear a work worthy of 
the government, and one that could be accomplished 
with the greatest ease and in the most efi&cient man- 
ner under the patronage of the nation. None but 
the nation's arm could reach to all the situations in 
which the free blacks are placed through our ex- 
tended country, nor any but its councils be wise 
enousjh to accommodate the various interests which 
ought to be consulted in so great an undertaking. 
If wrong has been done to Africa in forcing away 
her weeping children, the wrong can be best redressed 
by that power which did the injury. If Heaven has 
been offended, by putting chains on those whom by 
its eternal laws it has willed to be free, the same 
hand which provoked the divine displeasure should 
offer the atoning sacrifice. Under a former govern- 
ment, this guilt and evil were brought principally 
upon our land ; but for many years the State govern- 
ments, under the eye of the general government, 
continued this great violation of the laws of nature. 
Let then the representatives of this great and free 
people, not only feel it to be their interest, but their 
duty and glory to repair the injuries done to hu- 
manity by our ancestors by restoring to independence 
those who were forced from their native land, and are 
now found among us. 

" It remains yet to answer the question : Should 
Congress in their wisdom adopt tlic proposed mea- 
13 



146 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

sure — would it best answer the end designed, to plant 
the colony in some distant section of our country, or 
in the land to which their color and original consti- 
tution are adapted ? If fixed in the territories of the 
United States, the expense of procuring soil might be 
saved; and the difficulty of removing settlers to the 
appointed place would be diminished, especially if 
the colony were planted at no very great distance in 
the interior. But these advantages would be in part 
counterbalanced, by having in our vicinity an inde- 
pendent settlement of people who were once our 
slaves. There might be cause of dread, lest they 
should occasionally combine with our Indian neigh- 
bors, or with those European nations who have set- 
tlements adjacent to our own, and we should have 
them for our enemies. However great the distance 
at which such a settlement would be made in our own 
country, it would furnish great facility to the slaves 
in the nearest states, to desert their master's service, 
and escape to a land where their own race was sove- 
reign and independent. An easy communication 
would also be open, to send information to those who 
remain in slavery, so as to make them uneasy in their 
servitude. If removed to Africa, these last difficul- 
ties would disappear, or be greatly diminished. There 
we should have nothing to fear from their becoming 
our enemies. Removed from our sight, our contempt 
of them, produced by their situation, and by long 
habit confirmed, would gradually die away, and their 
jealousy and suspicion proportionably decrease. The 
colony could never become an asylum for fugitive 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 147 

slaves, and but little opportunity could be afforded to 
communicate with this country in such a manner as 
to render the slaves uneasy in their master's service. 
On the other hand, great and happy results might be 
produced by their being colonized in Africa. It is 
the land of their fathers, a climate suited to their 
color, and one to Avhich their constitution, but par- 
tially altered by their abode in this country would 
soon adapt itself. Who can tell the blessings which 
might in this way be conferred on Africa herself, 
when her strangers should be restored, and she should 
receive her children redeemed from bondage by the 
humanity of America, and by the hand of virtue and 
religion restored from their captivity. "With what 
delight would she view them, improved in arts, in 
civilization, and in knowledge of the true God. She 
would forget her sorrows, her wounds would be 
healed, and she would bless the hands of her benefac- 
tors. .Do we not owe to that hapless country a debt 
contracted by our fathers ; and how can we so well 
repay it, as by transporting to her shores a multitude 
of its own descendants, who have learned the arts of 
life and are softened by the power of true religion, 
and who can therefore be instrumental in taming and 
placing in fixed abodes, the wild and wandering peo- 
ple who now roam over that great section of the 
crlobe. A nation of Christians ouo-ht to believe that 
all the earth is destined to enjoy happiness under the 
dominion of the Prince of Peace. Africa is not for- 
gotten by Him who 'feeds the sparrows.' The spirit 
of her people shall arise. Her sons shall assume their 



148 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

proper dignity, and she shall yet rejoice in her Crea- 
tor's favor. Heaven executes its purposes by human 
agents, and perhaps this may be one of those means 
which are laid up in store to bless the sable millions 
that now exist, the pity of angels, but the scorn of • 
thoughtless man. Could any thing be deemed so 
effectual for the happiness of that portion of the 
world as the plan proposed ? In this way there might 
soon be fixed a seat of liberal learning in Africa, 
from which the rays of knowledge might dart across 
those benighted regions. Is it too much to believe it 
possible that He who brings light out of darkness, 
and good out of evil, has suffered so great an evil 
to exist as African slavery, that in a land of civil 
liberty and religious knowledge, thousands and tens 
of thousands might at the appointed time be prepared 
to return, and be the great instrument of spreading 
peace and happiness. Let not these reflections be 
thought wholly visionary. We know that the ways 
of the great Ruler of the world and Director of events 
are wonderful and great beyond calculation. We 
know that great and increasing benefits arise to the 
natives of Afnca from the colony at Sierra Leone. 
From the vicinity of that colony, the son of an Afri- 
can chief, Avho has seen and felt its benefits, thus 
writes in the summer of 1815: 'What a happy 
thing it is to see the peaceable state that this country 
is now in ! quiet and free from slave vessels ! — no 
dragging of families from one another ! — no innume- 
rable slaves chained together, male and female ! and. 
the enemies of humanity, the slave traders, gradually 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 149 

quitting the country! It has struck me forcibly, that 
where the gospel makes its appearance, there Satan's 
kingdom gradually diminishes. May God give grace 
and perseverance to his servants to carry on his 
work ; and make them instruments in his hands of 
bringing them to perfection. On the fourth of June, 
1815, ninety children and one adult were baptized 
into the faith of Christ in the colony.' On which 
occasion the same young prince thus writes : ' I never 
was better pleased in my life-time than to see so many 
of my countrymen brought so far as to be baptized, 
and particularly when I saw grown up natives come 
forward to be baptized. We had likewise the happi- 
ness of seeing our church so full, that some were 
obliged to stand out of doors. Five or six of the 
native chiefs were present on the occasion. I had 
more hopes that day than I ever had of those poor 
perishing countrymen of mine.' The period in which 
we live is big with great events, and as happy as they 
are great. It is pregnant with greater still. We 
have lived to see the day when man has begun to 
learn the lesson of freedom and happiness. America 
is blessed with every blessing civil and religious. 
Europe begins slowly but sensibly to reform her gov- 
ernments. The gloomy and dread superstitions of 
Asia, begin to totter before the gospel of Christ. 
Nor shall Africa be forgotten. Her bosom begins to 
warm with hope, and her heart to beat with expec- 
tation and desire. Toward this land of liberty she 
turns her eyes, and to the representatives of this great 
and free people, she stretches forth her hands, panting 

13* 



150 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

for the return of her absent sons and daughters. 
Happy America, if she shall endeavor not only to 
rival other nations in arts and arms, but to equal and 
exceed them in the great cause of humanity, which 
has begun its never ending course." 



C HAPTER VII. 

Rival Clams to the Authorship of Colonization stated. — No- 
tice BY Dr. Alexander in his Colonization History, &c. 

Rival claims to the honor of originating this great 
and benevolent enterprise have been, at least impli- 
edly, set up in behalf of others in various quarters. 
We have reason to feel obligated to such men as have 
employed their talents to ascertain the facts in this 
matter ; for, by their investigation, they have saved 
us the trouble of renewing this examination, which we 
had gone through to our entire satisfaction more than 
thirty years ago, by failing to produce anything which 
impairs his claim to the exclusive credit of originating 
this magnificent scheme. 

Dr. Archibald Alexander's "History of African 
Colonization,"* by exposing the futility of every op- 
posing or rival claim to Dr. Finley's, as the original 
author of colonization, after his extensive and thor- 
ough search through the whole field of inquiry, tri- 
umphantly vindicates and establishes Dr. Finley as 
the principal and successful contriver of the vast sys- 
tem here in question. 

What Dr. Alexander reports as the sum of his dis- 

*An 8vo. volume, published by Wm. S. Martien, Philadelphia. 
1849. 



152 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

coveries in his labored investigation, may be found on 
the following pages of his work. 

Dr. Hopkins, _ . _ page 56 

Dr. Thornton, - - . 61 

Dr. Craighead, . _ . 62 

St. George Tucker, - - - ■ ^ 62 

Legislature of Virginia, - - 63, 64, 65 

Thomas Jefferson, - - - 70, 74 

Charles F. Mercer, - - - 76 

After appearing to attach considerable importance 
to the early doings of Dr. Hopkins, Dr. Alexander 
subsequently gives the opinion " that they were rather 
of the nature of a work of missions." Notwithstand- 
ing he tells us " that he considers this enterprise as 
one which has a real connection with the schemes of 
African colonization, now in a course of execution." 
In another place he expresses the conjecture "that in 
all probability Dr. Hopkins' scheme had suggested the 
idea of colonization at Sierra Leo7ie.'' Dr. Hopkins 
lived, and made his abortive movement, in Rhode Is- 
land, at least thirty-five years, perhaps more, anterior 
to the formation of the Colonization Society; residing 
at, what was then accounted, a great distance be- 
tween that State and New Jersey — a road very little 
travelled, as there existed no business intercourse. 
The fact is Dr. Hopkins, though a benevolent man, 
was heard of chiefly as a theologian. 

In regard to Mr. Jefferson's opinion. Dr. Alexan- 
der informs us " That it has always been understood 
that his plan was to remove the slaves to some part of 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FIN LEY. 153 

the extensive country northwest of the Ohio, which 
then heloni^ed to the State of Virginia." Mr. Jeffer- 
son hinted that " it would be a good thing for gov- 
ernment to undertake a colony on the African coast." 
But he discards the subject with two or three remarks, 
each, or all, fatal to this suggestion. 1. "T}iat for 
this the national mind is not prepared." 2. "That 
the blacks would not be willing to accept such an ex- 
change of situation." And 3, he afterwards expresses 
great doubt, "Whether in an experiment of that kind 
they would be capable of governing themselves." 
Pages 74, 75, Dr. A's book. 

On page 77, Dr. Alexander uses terms, which may 
mislead, on another point. "It is more than proba- 
ble that Dr. Finley, the brother-in-law of Elias B. 
Caldwell, Esq., had heard, during the summer of 
1816, of what had been secretly transacted in the 
General Assembly of Virginia, and of Mr. Mercer's 
intention again to bring the subject before that body 
at the earliest opportunity." Now, the fact is, Mr. 
E. B. Caldwell's letter to the writer, soon after Dr. 
Finley's death, states that he, Mr. Caldwell, knew 
nothing of Dr. Finley's mind on the subject, till he 
saw him in the District, December, 1816.* Mr. Cald- 
well there declares that "one leading design, and one 
that seemed to be most interesting to him, was the for- 
warding of the Colonization plan. "Shortly after he ar- 
rived," Mr. C. goes on to say, "he opened to me his 
views on the subject. I had been contemplating the 
same object from the preceding winter, I was, there- 

*See letter of E. B. Caldwell, Esq'r., pp. 132, 133. 



154 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

fore, prepared to enter at once into Ms feelings.'' 
This was then an entirely new subject of conversation 
between these gentlemen. 

In the progress of his remarks upon this subject, 
Dr. Alexander adds, " It is manifest that Dr. Finley 
had the scheme of a colony of free blacks, on the 
western coast of Africa, fully in his mind more than 
a year before Mr. Mercer knew anything about the 
secret resolutions of the Virginia Legislature," and 
adds, "As the Rev. Robert Finley, D. D., must ever 
hold a conspicuous place in the history of African 
Colonization, whatever may be the result of the enter- 
prise, it cannot but be gratifying to the reader to 
know some particulars respecting him." 

We may add that the fact is rendered plain, by 
Col. C. F. Mercer's speech, in Charleston, Kanawha 
county. Western Yirginia, see Dr. A's book, pp. 75, 
76, that he knew nothing about the organization at 
the time it took place at Washington, not even the 
date of its formation, as he states in his speech. 
*'That the American Colonization Society was formed 
in the city of Washington, early in the month of Jan- 
uary," when, in fact that organization was substanti- 
ally effected on 21st of December, and completed in 
full form on the 28th of that month, 1816. 

If co-operators with Dr. Finley in that great work 
are sought for, they can be found only in his native 
State — New Jersey. And the writer is the only sur- 
viving member of the very small number of his sym- 
pathizers and coadjutors, who aided this noble work 
in its progress, till fully developed and crowned at 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 155 

Washington. The prime and chief honor of the en- 
terprise, is cheerfully conceded to him who led the 
way and performed the chief labor. The great ob- 
ject now is, to secure to him the pre-eminent merit 
of the grand achievement, and to his native State 
the immortal honor of its imternity^ through the pa- 
tient and persevering agency of her distinguished 
son. Tribute to whom tribute ! Honor to whom 
honor ! 

To us who aided in the incipient production of 
this monumental institution, and who have feebly as- 
sisted its infant efforts through weakness, danger, 
and doubt — to this hour, it is enough to be per- 
mitted to join in the general acclamation and tribute 
of thanks to Almighty God, and of applause to the 
virtuous, wise, and humane of our country, who have 
by their concurrent action nursed' the society into 
greatness, and raised it above detraction and peril ; 
with them to rejoice in its growing strength, and in 
the multiplication of its auxiliaries and friends at 
home and abroad ; to anticipate its vast and incalcu- 
lable benefits in the diffusion of light, liberty, and 
happiness over millions of dark and miserable victims 
of ignorance, bondage, and vice — born and unborn. 
The present and future glory of this magnificent plan 
of mercy, is the juzt and undecaying legacy of Dr. 
Robert Finley to his family — to tlieir latest pos- 
terity ; and to the State of New Jersey, which gave 
him birth — and has ever sympathized with works of 
benevolence and mercy to mankind. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Letter from Corpokatiox of the Uxiversity of Georgia — Gov- 
ernor Early's communication — Mr. Finley accepts the invi- 
tation — Resigns his Pastoral charge — His Trusteeship at 
Princeton — Receives the degree of D.D. — Takes leave of a 
Weeping Church — Sails from Xew York. 

Early in January, Dr. Finley received the follow- 
ing letter from the Secretary of the Corporation of 
the University of Georgia, informing him of his ap- 
pointment to the Presidency of that institution, and 
urging his acceptance of it : — 

^^ Athens, December 31, 1816. 
" Reverend Sir, 

"It is with much sincere pleasure that I take up 
my pen, to address you on the subject of our former 
correspondence. This pleasure is not a little in- 
creased by the ardent hope that the correspondence 
now officially commenced, or re-commenced, by the 
Board of Trustees, will result in your removal to 
Athens, and in your taking the superintendence and 
direction of the University of Georgia. At a late 
meeting of the Board, the appointment was conferred 
upon you unanimously ; and Governor Early was di- 
rected to announce the same to you, and to solicit 
your acceptance of it. The resolution conferring 
the appointment is in the words following, which 



BIOGKAniY OF DR. FINLEY. 157 

I transcribe, lest the Governor's letter might mis- 
carry : 

" * Resolved, That the Rev. Robert Finlcy, of New 
Jersey, be, and he is hereby appointed President of 
the University of Georgia, in the place of the Rev. 
John Brown, resigned, with a salary of gloOO per 
annum, payable quarterly ; and that a copy of the 
above resolution be transmitted to Mr. Finley, by 
Governor Early, the Senior Trustee, presiding at this 
meeting, together with a statement of the present 
and future funds of the University.' 

" Governor Early will inform you of the state of 
the funds of the institution, present and in prospect. 
On that subject I would only observe, that there is 
no doubt in my mind, that the Trustees will soon 
possess the means as well as the disposition to give 
their officers such salaries as will be perfectly ade- 
quate to their comfort and convenience. For reasons 
which cannot be stated in a letter, Dr. Brown ten- 
dered his resignation to the Board some time in the 
spring, which was accepted in November last. The 
Doctor has retired and resides a few miles from the 
village. He is very solicitous that you should accept 
the appointment. You will find in him a friend and 
brother, and an excellent man. Mr. Golding, son- 
in-law to Dr. Brown, is the professor of languages. 
With an equal ardor he awaits your arrival, to take 
charge of the institution. IMr. Camak, a graduate 
of the South Carolina College, a young gentleman 
of fine talents, is professor of mathematics and as- 
tronomy. Dr. Henry Jackson, late American Charge 
14 



158 BIOGEAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

d'Affairs at Paris, and not yet returned from that 
country, but expected soon, is professor of chemistry, 
mineralogy, &c. He is a gentleman of great science, 
of uncommon modesty and much merit. In every 
measure, having for its object the well-being and 
well-doing of the college, you will have the hearty 
co-operation of the faculty, as well as their easy and 
voluntary subordination, and they will be happy in 
your official connection with them. 

"It is wished that you should come on immedi- 
ately, and if necessary without your family, and stay 
till commencement, on the second Monday in July ; 
after which 3^ou could return, and in the course of 
the following autumn bring on your family. I hope, 
my dear sir, you will view this as a providential open- 
ing for your removal to a southern climate, and to 
a sphere of extensive usefulness. There are few 
healthier* spots in the world than Athens, although 
it be Georgia. The institution has been in operation 
here sixteen years, and the grave of a student is not to 

* In confirmation of this part of Mr. Hodge's instructing and 
agreeable communication, a friend residing at Athens, formerly an 
inhabitant of New Jerse}^, writes as follows : — 

" Athens, January 2Sth, ISIS. 
" A healthier spot than this cannot be found. The climate is a 
delightful one. This is as pleasant a day as I ever felt in the 
month of April. Our summers are more agreeable than at the 
North. Our mornings and evenings are like your pleasantest 
weather in June ; and it is not "uncomfortable in the middle of the 
day, unless exposed to the sun. It seems very congenial to my 
constitution. I enjoy better health than I have in twenty years." 



" BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 159 

be seen. I hope you will not hesitate a moment to 
accept. 

'' In the midst of much other business, preparatory 
to a journey of two weeks' continuance, on which I 
am to set out, Deo volente, to-morrow, I have written 
this letter hastily. Excuse its imperfections, and 
have the goodness to answer it immediately. 
" I am affectionately 

and very respectfully, 
your friend, 

John Hodge. 
" Rev. R. Finley." 

In a few days after the reception of Mr. Hodge's 
letter. Governor Early's official communication on 
the same subject, reached Mr. Finley. The subject 
of his removal to Georgia was now presented to him 
the third time, which circumstance, in connection 
with others, rendered the application peculiarly de- 
serving of his respectful and attentive regard. As 
the great outlines of this important subject, by jjre- 
vious inquiry and reflection, had become familiar to 
his mind, he seems to liavc spent but little time in 
deliberating upon it, before he addressed to Governor 
Early the following letter, in answer to that* received 

from him : — 

^'BasMng Ridrje, Feb. 21, 1817. 

"Peter Early. Esq., 

'^Dear Sir: — Your favor of the date of January 

* The communication of Gov. Early, Avliicli was very valuable 
and interesting on this subject, has been unfortunately lost, in the 
course of Mr. Finley's removal. 



160 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. TINLEY. 

15, 1817, and with the post mark of January 29, ar- 
rived here yesterday, and was received by me to-day.- 
A letter from the Rev. John Hodge, of Athens, had 
apprised me of the appointment mentioned in your 
communication, and if I were as well convinced of my 
ability to fill the station, as I am sensible of the honor 
conferred on me, I should be more gratified with the 
appointment, and more ready to accept it. My friends 
have ever been inclined to overrate my qualifications 
for usefulness, and I have often been afraid that, from 
this circumstance, I might be led to take some step 
which in the end would be unpleasant to them as well 
as to myself. In the early part of my life I spent a 
year at Charleston, South Carolina, and brought away 
with me a partiality for the South, which at different 
times has made the idea ' of a permanent settlement' 
in a more southern climate pleasant to me. Some 
time in the early part of January, I had a conversa- 
tion with the Hon. William H. Crawford, Esq., at 
Washington, on the present state and future pros- 
pects of ]?ranklin College. From the conversation 
had with him, an idea was received, that the funds of 
the institution now, or shortly would, warrant a salary 
of two thousand dollars to the President. On the re- 
ceipt of Mr. Hodge's letter, and after having waited 
for three weeks for the official information, it appeared 
to me correct, under the impression that your letter 
might have miscarried, to write to Mr. Hodge, and 
express my feelings on this subject, especially as he 
desired me to do so. After seeing a publication in 
the Savannah Republican, as your letter did not still 



BIOGRAPHif OF DR. FINLEY. IGl 

arrive, it was deemed not improper to write to Mr. 
Crawford, Dr. Kollock, and Thomas Gumming, Esq., 
of Augusta, all of whom were understood to belong 
to the Board of Trustees of the University. It 
was stated in each of the letters written to those gen- 
tlemen, that the appointment would be accepted on 
condition that the salary of the President should be 
two thousand dollars per annum as soon as the funds 
would admit, and in the just expectation that this 
would be the case in twelve or eighteen months from 
next May ; and on the farther condition that the 
Board should pay the general expenses of removing 
my family from this place to Athens. My property 
is of such a kind that the far greater part must be left 
behind, or sold at a very great loss. Permit me, sir, 
to state to you, for the information of the Board, my 
willingness to accept the appointment on the condi- 
tions just mentioned. Should the conditions appear 
unreasonable, or it be inexpedient to comply with 
them, it will be a subject of sincere regret to me that 
the Trustees should be disappointed, or the institution 
suffer in the slightest degree. It was perhaps wished 
that I should come immediately on, after receiving 
the appointment ; but when it is considered that there 
is in this place an academy under my superintend- 
ence, which could not be dissolved at once without 
some appearance of impropriety ; and, further, that 
as a clergyman, my connection with the church of 
which I am pastor, is formed by the power of a Pres- 
bytery, and can regularly be dissolved by it alone ; it 
appeared to me too great a violation of propriety to 



1(32 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

think of coming before May. It ^vas intimated to the 
gentlemen to whom I wrote, that I would prepare to 
leave New York by the first good vessel that may sail 
for Savannah in that month. Arrangements will be 
going forward, as if a removal were determined on, 
but in such a w^ay as to suit my convenience in re- 
moving or continuing where I am. I am sensible that 
there cannot well be a meeting of the Board to deter- 
mine on the points in question within the time pro- 
posed, and that I must be" satisfied with individual 
opinions. It will, therefore, be acceptable if these 
opinions should be expressed without any reserve, and 
as soon as convenient. 

"You will be good enough to see nothing but the 
frankness of a candid mind in all that I have done 
since the receipt of Mr. Hodge's letter, and a desire 
to meet the wishes of the trustees in a way compati- 
ble with my own interests. Sliould it be so directed, 
it cannot but be very agreeable to me to labor with 
yourself in promoting the interests of literature in 
Georgia and thereby benefiting our fellow men. 

" It gives me pleasure to assure you, sir, that with 
esteem and very great respect, 
I am sincerely, 
Yours, 

Robert Finley." 

The period that elapsed between the sending of this 
letter, and the reception of an answer, was to Mr. 
Finley a season of great suspense and anxiety. His 
mind, during this period, " fatis contraria, fata repen- 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. Km 

dens," seems to have taken some new and unfavor- 
able views of the subject. The difficulties attending 
the transportation of a large family to so remote a sit- 
uation — the painful emotions excited by the near view 
of entire separation from numerous, respectable, and 
dear relatives, and settling in a land of strangers — 
apprehensions respecting the operation of a southern 
climate on himself and family — and a more careful 
consideration of the state and prospects of the college, 
the high responsibility, and the arduous labors, he 
must encounter, the uncertainty of ultimate success 
arising from a view of the failure of former efforts — 
these things produced so great a hesitation, so serious 
a conflict in his mind, that he regretted his having 
conditionally pledged himself to the Board of Trus- 
tees. He would willingly have discovered some way 
in which he could retract, consistently with honor and 
with truth. He waited with great anxiety for the ex- 
pected reply to his proposal, and hoped that some 
sufficient room would be afforded for him to withdraw 
from his engagement. On the 17th day of April, the 
last day of the period, during which he considered him- 
self committed to the Board of Trustees of the Georgia 
University, their answer reached him, expressing un- 
equivocally a full agreement to every suggestion he 
had made to them, relative to his removal. His sus- 
pense was now at an end. The path of his duty he 
considered pointed out by Divine Providence ; and, 
from this moment, he resolved humbly and cheerfully 
to submit to what appeared to him to be the will of 
God, and to cast his care upon Him. He began im- 



164 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

mediately to make the necessary preparations for 
leaving New Jersey, that he might, if possible, reach 
the place of destination before the extreme heat of 
summer. 

When the corporation of Princeton college opened 
their sessions, April 12th, 1817, a letter from Mr. 
Finley was laid before them tendering his resignation 
of the office of Trustee, which he had now filled with 
great respectability and usefulness for twelve years. 
His resignation was accepted by the Board ; and, by 
their unanimous 'vote, the degree of Doctor of Divin- 
ity was conferred on Mr. Finley, as an honorable ex- 
pression of their high sense of his talents, piety, and 
usefulness. 

On the 4th Tuesday of April following, he met for 
the last time his brethren of the presbytery of New 
Brunswick, at the stated semi-annual meeting of that 
body. From the numerous cares, and the necessary 
arrangements, which called so imperiously for his 
presence and attention at home, at this moment he 
w^as able to spare time sufficient only to transact the 
business necessary to his separation from the people 
of his charge, and to his being regularly connected 
with that presbytery, into the bounds of which he con- 
templated removing. 

The following copy of the original document, with 
which Dr. Finley was furnished by the presbytery of 
New Brunswick, will give a correct view of the order 
in which this business was transacted. 

" At a meeting of the presbytery of New Bruns- 
wick, at Allentown, April 22d, 1817, a minute was 
made, of which the following is a true copy, viz : 



BIOGRAPIIX" OF DR. FINLEY. 105 

" The Rev. Dr. Finley represented to the presby- 
tery, that he has been appointed president of the 
university of Georgia, and earnestly requested to 
accept the appointment, and that on mature delibe- 
ration he has deemed it his duty to comply with the 
request — In consequence of which he desired that the 
pastoral relation between him and the congregation 
of Basldno; Rid ore be dissolved, and that he be dis- 
missed from this presbytery to connect himself with 
the presbytery of Hopewell. 

"The congregation of Basking Ridge present by 
their commissioner, Joseph Annin, Esq., being in- 
quired of whether they had any opposition, or com- 
munication to make on the subject of Dr. Finley's 
request, produced the following document, viz : 

"At a meeting of the congregation of Basking 
Ridge, on Monday the 21st day of April, 1817, to 
adopt such measures as they might deem advisable, 
with respect to the Rev. Robert Finley's application 
to be discharged from his pastoral charge of said 
congresation, the Honorable Henry Southard was 
appointed Moderator, and AVilliam B. Gaston, Clerk. 
The subject being agitated and discussed, it was the 
unanimous vote of the congregation, that they sin- 
cerely regret the application of Mr. Finley to be 
discharged from his pastoral charge of the congre- 
gation — but yielding to Mr. Finley's wishes, and 
under existing circumstances, and as an act of friendly 
attachment to Mr. Finlev, it is the unanimous vote of 
the congregation to make no opposition to the pres- 
bytery's discharging Mr. Finley from his ipastoral 



166 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FIXLEY. 

charge of this congregation. And it is further the 
unanimous vote of the congregation, that Joseph 
Annin, Esq., be a commissioner to convey the sense 
of this meeting to presbytery, (Signed) 

Henry Southard, Moderator.- 
William B. G-aston, Clerk.'' 

" On motion, resolved that the request of the Rev. 
Dr. Finley be granted, and that the pastoral relation 
between him and the cono;reo;ation of Baskino: Bid^e, 
be and it hereby is dissolved, and said congregation 
is declared to be vacant. 

^'Besolved further, that Dr. Finley be and he 
hereby is dismissed from this presbytery to join the 
presbytery of Hopewell. 

" The presbytery in thus dismissing Dr. Finley to 
remove to so great a distance, feel all that reluctance, 
which attachment to a beloved brother, and a sense 
of his long and important services to this part of the 
church of Christ, might be supposed to produce. 
Hoping and believing, however, that he may be still 
more useful in the honorable sphere of duty to which 
he is called, they dismiss him with many fervent 
prayers for his comfort and usefulness, and coi^lially 
and affectionately recommend him to the presbytery 
of Hopewell, as a minister in good standing. 
Signed by order of the presbytery. 

Ash BEL Green, Moderator. 

AYiLLiAM C. Schenck, Clerk.''' 



"J 



Dr. Finley's last interview with the presbytery 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 167 

-^as tender and uifecting. Parting with his beloved 
fellow-presbyters, and associates in the Lord's service, 
among whom he had for so long a period, both given 
and received, numerous and endearing evidences of 
respect and affection, produced many painful emo- 
tions. In adjusting several minor concerns, relating 
to the business which chiefly occupied his mind, his 
sensibilities appeared to be much excited; but it was 
only, by a great effort that he was enabled to suppress 
his feelings, so as to state briefly his circumstances, 
and request a discharge from his pastoral obligation, 
and a dismission from the presbytery. As a mark 
of peculiar respect, and contrary to the custom 
of this presbytery, a committee was appointed to 
draught the form of dismission delivered to Dr. Finley 
w^iich is embraced in the preceding document. 

Dr. Finley's feelings would not permit him to take 
leave of his congregation in a formal valedictory 
discourse. Most of the sermons which he delivered, 
after the separation had been resolved on, were how- 
ever peculiarly adapted to his trying circumstances 
and preparatory to his contemplated removal."^ The 

■^ Some time before Dr. Fiuley received his final call from Geor- 
gia, he commeuced a course of lectures to his congregation, on 
the 14th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John. When he 
began, he had no intention of continuing through that chapter; 
but, he became much interested himself with the subjects presented 
in order, and the lectures appeared extremely interesting to the 
people ; so that he continued this exercise some time, and closed 
his ministry at Basking Ridge with the 17th chapter. From the 
commencement oi these lectures, a considerable portion of the 
people had an impression, that he intended to leave them, and that 



168 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FliNLEY. 

weekly society, at which he attended in the academy 
on the Friday evening, immediately preceding the 
last Sahbath he spent at Basking Ridge, exhibited a 
scene truly solemn and affecting. Of the crowded 
assembly present, far the greater part were professors 
of religion, many of them young and almost all fruits 
of his ministry. The subject of discourse Philippians 
i. 27. was happily chosen — "Only let your conversa- 
tion be as it becometh the gospel of Christ : that 
whether I come to see you or else be absent, I may 
hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, 
with one mind, striving together for the faith of the 
gospel." On this occasion he manifested his peculi- 
arly strong and ardent attachment to this people, 
and his deep and solemn concern for their everlasting 
salvation. He exerted all the influence of his warm 
affection and powerful eloquence, especially, when 
addressing those whom he considered as his children 
in Christ, to inspire them with steadfastness, vigilance 
and zeal, in the Christian course. Towards the close 
of his sermon, in the midst of his strong and moving 
persuasives, he said, " If it would add to my importu- 
nity, any additional force and effect, I would beseech 
you on my bended knees to remember and observe 
my affectionate, parting counsel," upon saying which, 

these discourses were designed to prepare their minds for that 
event. During the last week Dr. Finley and his family spent at 
Basking Ridge, one of the congregation requested these discourses 
of Mrs. Finley. lie was much surprised and disappointed on being 
informed that they were not written, inasmuch as he had enter- 
tained the expectation, that they had been prepared to be left with 
the people. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 109 

kneeling down lie poured forth his soul before them 
for some minutes in that attitude, exhorting and en- 
treating them by the terrors and mercies of the Lord, 
to "let their conversation be as becometh the gospel 
of Christ." The people from the commencement of 
the exercises had appeared exceedingly solemn and 
much affected. This new, unusual"^' and pathetic 
appeal to their hearts, roused all their sensibilities, 
overpowered the whole assembly, and drew^ tears from 
every eye. In this discourse Dr. Finley addressed 
the people on the importance of their continuing to 
observe the Friday evening society, which had been 
commenced during the first revival under his ministry 
amonoj them, A. D. 1803. He then stated, that for 
fifteen years, he had never been absent from that 
society, when at home, but once : "and then, said he, 
I was sick on my bed, but my heart was Avith you." 

* Few instances are probably to be found in the annals of 
church or state, in which the most vehement and impassioned 
earnestness and zeal have manifested themselves in this truly 
eloquent and irresistible manner. 

The elegant Biographer of Patrick Henry, in his interesting 
volume, before referred to, page 376, informs the world that thai 
great man was directed by the strong impulses of native feeling 
and passion to the same resort, in one instance — 

"I learn, that on one occasion, after the war, he appeared at the 
bar of the house of delegates, in support of a petition of the 
officers of the Virginia line, who sought to be placed on the foot- 
ing of those who had been taken on the continental establishment ; 
and that, after having depicted their services and their sufferings, 
in colors which filled every heart with sympathy and gratitude, he 
dropped on his knees at the bar of the house, and presented such an 
appeal as might almost have softened rocks, and bent the knotted 
oak." 

15 



470 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

On tlie Sabbath following, be administered the sa- 
crament of the Lord's supper, and communed with 
his Chistian friends at Basking Ridge for the last 
time. The assembly of people that attended on this 
occasion, was unusually large and very solemn. In 
the morning. Dr. Finley preached the action sermon^ 
which was the last discourse he ever delivered in his 
native State. His sermon was appropriate* and im- 

* To exhibit somewhat more fully the frame of mind vfhich our 
departed friend possessed at this interesting juncture, and to fur- 
nish a specimen of the kind of notes he commonly used during 
several of the last years of his ministr}', the following analysis of 
this sacramental sermon, is inserted from his own handwritingj 
without alteration : — 

1 Corinthians x. 16. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it 
not the communion of the blood of Christ? — the bread which we 
break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? — 

Our Lord in all his institutions consulted the edification of his 
disciples. In the institution of the supper, he instituted an ordi- 
nance that should keep up the remembrance of his love and suf- 
ferings, admit of fellowship with him, and naturally lead to com- 
munion among the disciples — 

I. What communion is — 

II. What the special communion which Christians hold, with 
one another in the Lord's supper, is — 

I. What communion is. 

It is that interchange of sentiment which produces a unity of 
feeling, and which is so delightful to the heart. 

We must exchange our feelings to know each others' situation. 

We must fully agree in order to be unreserved and happy. This 
is of the nature of that communion that there is between the soul 
and God. 

II. What is the special communion which friends hold with one 
another in the Lord's supper. 

1. As they are members of Christ — 2. As they are fellow-tra- 
vellers — 3. As they have future hopes. 



, BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 171 

pressive. The whole multitude appeared to be greatly 
affected by the solemnities of public service ; but 
" they sorrowed most of all for the words which he 
spake — th\it they should see his face no more." At 
the close of the morning service, he made some 
observations of a valedictory nature. The whole 
address he comprised in a very few sentences, and 
concluded by bidding them a tender and affectionate 
"farewelL" 

The Church of Christ has witnessed few seasons of 
a similar kind more interesting and affecting than the 
scene exhibited during these transactions at Basking 
Ridge. Dr. Finley's union to the people of that 
congregation was of the most strong and endearing' 
nature. Their long continued love and kindness had 
inspired him with an unusually warm attachment to 
them ; and the blessings of God, so often and pecu- 
liarly vouchsafed to their sacred connection had 

1. As they are members of Christ. 
They commune of the sutferings — 

of the atonement — 

of the intercession of Christ — 

2. As they are fellow-travellers — 

About the conflicts of life, temporal and spiritual — 
About the goodness and love of God and Christ — 
About their own love and forgiveness to one another. 

3. As to their future hopes. 

That they shall be pure in the presence of God — 

That after all their separations, they shall meet to part no 
more — 

We shall all meet with Christ — 

Subject needs no improvement but to pray that the spirit of 
true communion may be given to us. 



172 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

cemented it still more strongly and drawn its ties 
still more closely together. This union of the pastor 
to his people fostered by their kindness and cemented 
by heavenly grace, could not be dissolved without a 
painful conflict in his heart. But under a deep and 
solemn persuasion that his separation from them was 
taking place at the call of God, he resigned himself 
obediently and cheerfully to that call. At the same 
time an awful and indescribable solemnity was visible 
in his countenance and manners, on that day which 
closed his sacred ministrations at Basking Ridge. 
He seemed to be standing before the great Judge 
giving his final account, surveying the " seals of his 
ministry," the ''crowns of his rejoicing." Amidst 
the mourning aad weeping which abounded, he pre- 
served in general a steady composure, and seemed to 
be occupied with matters which raised him above the 
passing scene and to be " sitting in heavenly places 
in Christ Jesus." 

The people of that congregation, notwithstanding 
their having formally consented to the removal of 
their beloved pastor, in a full belief that it was the 
Lord's will, manifested a deep and tender concern. It 
was evident that .they felt the reality and magnitude 
of the loss they were about to sustain in this transac- 
tion. They saw retiring from them a chosen friend 
and holy man of God, a highly successful and honored 
ambassador of Christ. All beheld in him a faithful 
■ preacher of the gospel. Hundreds claimed him and 
hung around him as their spiritual father and guide. 
The poor and afflicted saw in him departing a kind 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 173 

sympathizing friend and benefactor. Children and 
youth, in his removal, mourned the loss of a father. 
So that this congregation must be considered as 
having been furnished in this event with peculiarly 
great and ample cause for humiliation and sorrow. 
And the appearances of undissembled grief, prevail- 
ing on every side, corresponded with these ideas and 
impressions. 

On Monday following. Dr. Finley's movable pro- 
perty was disposed of at public sale. On the evening 
of the next "Wednesday he arrived in New York. A 
few days were spent there in making necessary ar- 
rangements for embarkation, and in taking leave of 
numerous and affectionate friends. In the beginning 
of the next week he sailed for Savannah. 

The following extract from a letter, written by 
Dr. Finley to a friend, will give some general idea of 
what he observed and experienced on his passage : — 

" As I think it probable that you have been in- 
formed of my arrival by some of the letters already 
sent from this place, there is no need that I should 
repeat anything of what has been already stated of 
our passage, and the various incidents arising out of 
it. One thing only seems worthy of a renewed men- 
tion. Off the North Carolina coast we experienced 
a variety of weather — head winds, calms, and winds 
blowing in all directions, attended with awful thunder 
and lightnino; which lasted the whole night. Toward 
the evening a whirlwind passed near us, and a water- 
spout formed and broke about two or three miles 
from us. It brought to my recollection the com- 

15* 



174 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

plaint of the Psalmist, that waves and luater-spoiits 
had gone over him, and I had some grand and pro- 
fitable meditations on the passage ; one happy effect 
of which was, that my mind being filled with the idea 
of God and reconciled^ too, through him, over whom 
the water-spouts of wrath did really break, my mind 
was kept quite free from fear. Indeed it was a great 

source of thankfulness that, except Miss R , we 

were all free from any degree of powerful apprehen- 
sion. The Lord grant it may be so when we pass 
the waters of death." 



CHAPTER IX. 

Ox THE IGth op May arrives at Savannah — Account op his 
PASSAGE — Correspondence — First impressions — ^Views of the 
College at Athens — First measures — Labors in the Village, 
AND IN the College — First Commencement — Attends Presby- 
tery — And is taken sick. 

On the 16th day of May, after being on ship-board 
almost two weeks, Dr. Finley arrived at Savannah 
with all his family in comfortable circumstances. 
After this, he had still to encounter a land travel of 
two hundred miles in extent, before he could reach 
his place of destination. In regard to this journey, 
which consumed fifteen days, he makes the follow- 
ing remarks, in a letter from Athens, to a friend in 
New Jersey : — 

" We were greatly fatigued with our journey from 
Savannah to this place, the carriage being much 
crowded with our large family, the roads being hilly 
and rough, through a new and dreary country, as 
nearly all the improvements are made ofi" from the 
road. By the blessing of the Lord we are all in 
health, though we have all been very uncomfortable, 
I believe through the change of water and diet. The 
bowels and stomach have been greatly distressed. 
We are all well recovered, so that w^e can begin to 
eat bacon, the only stated meat of the country." 

To exhibit Dr. Finley's first impressions on his ar- 
rival at Athens, and to convey some general idea of 



176 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

the state in which he found the college, the village 
in which it is located, and the country in general, 
the following letters, addressed by him soon after 
he reached that place to friends in this State, are in- 
troduced : — 

''June 12th, 1817, at Athens, Georgia. 
'' Dear Sir :— 

" Though very far separated from you in person, 
yet I am often present with you in mind. Indeed 
there are with you so many comforts and conve- 
niences more than can be furnished here, that it 
would be difficult to keep my mind at all from my 
former home, were it not for the necessity and duty 
of providing for the present, and endeavoring to ar- 
range for the improvement of the future. It would 
require a good part of the remainder of my life, to 
organize and put in motion the concerns of the collegCo 
We have enjoyed tolerable health since we arrived, 
except a severe affection of our stomach and bowels, 
which complaint passed away in a few days. Per- 
haps this may be a part of the seasoning we are to ex- 
perience here. We find all things high priced, owing 
to the severe drought which last year swept away 
every thing, as the frost did in Jersey. Europe and 
America in the same year experienced shortness of 
bread ; in America the crops failing from frost and 
drought, in Europe from the rains. Corn is one 
dollar and a half; last year it was twenty-five to 
thirty-seven cents. Wheat is now one dollar, usually 
seventy-five cents. The people's great concern is to 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 177 

raise cotton, buy slaves, &c. As yet there is but 
little thought of making any improvement, the coun- 
try being new ; and what is worse, the population 
fleeting and constantly moving off to the Alabama 
Territory. The country sufters greatly for want of 
mechanics ; for though it cannot be said there are no 
mechanics in some branches, yet they are such that 
nothing is done to the satisfaction of those who have 
seen anything better. A tanner and currier might 
make a fortune in a little time in any part of this 
country. A man who could make boots and shoes, 
might choose his own business and on his own 
terms. A carpenter and joiner, with a common 
blessing, might get rich as fast as labor could enrich 
any one." 

June 24tli, 1817, to another friend he writes as 
follows : 

" The place in which we live is entirely healthy, 
but for a few miles round the soil is considered as 
rather thin ; though, thin as it is, it produces good 
crops of corn, wheat, and cotton, for a few years, and 
would continue to do so if the people had any idea of 
manuring. They have none, but, being principally 
emigrants from Old Virginia, they wear out a piece 
of land and leave it. At present, immense sums of 
money are made by raising cotton, each slave yield- 
ing about two hundred dollars, exclusive of support. 
The comforts of life are not attended to, nor any of 
its elegancies, either in buildings or furnitm-e, either 
in dress or table. Morals low, correct ideas few, 
manners coarse, and religious knowledge nearly noth- 



178 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

ing. Yet some of the people seem to be sensible of 
all this, and desirous to have it all changed. But 
irresolution, arising from inexperience, and the indo- 
lence connected with slavery, T\'ill make changes slow, 
unless northern and eastern people come in to show 
an example and to take a lead. This part of the 
country suffers a very great inconvenience in having 
no bottom meadows ; and the soil, being sandy, does 
not produce grass. At the same time the people are 
determined to believe that no kind of grass seed can 
be sown with success. 

" The college is at the last gasp — forgotten in the 
public mind, or thought of only to despair of it — ne- 
glected and deserted — the buildings nearly in a state 
of ruins — and the Trustees doubtful whether it can 
ever be recovered. This is a picture not over drawn. 
You can readily conceive how all this has operated 
on my mind. I thank the Lord my spirits do not 
sink, nor is my heart discouraged. Yet, possessed of 
tranquillity and hope, one week at my old residence 
would give me more pleasure than all I have felt since I 
bade you farewell at Elizabeth Town Point. Some 
that I left I shall not see till the heavens are no 
more. 

" Instead of my large congregation I now preach 
to about fifty people. What a change ! Blessed be 
God, we shall be in the ' great congregation' shortly. 
'^ "With sincere love and respect, yours, 

'^KOBERT FlNLEY." 

The following^letter to a respectable gentleman at 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 179 

Basking Ridge, and intimate friend of Dr. Finley, 
possesses considerable interest, as illustrating farther 
the early history and the prevailing habits of the 
country in which the college is situated. 

^^ Athens, July 1st, 1817. 

^' Dear Sir: — You have probably learned from some 
of the letters that have been sent from this place, 
something of its appearance and condition. From 
them you "will learn .that we were considerably disap- 
pointed. One cause of this is the newness of the 
country. It is only about twenty years since it was 
the abode, or at least the haunt, of Indians. It is 
impossible, therefore, that society should be much ad- 
vanced, or any great improvements made ; especially 
as not only the first, but almost the only, settlers are 
from Virginia, and do not bring with them the spirit 
of improvement, which comes with eastern settlers, 
and even with Jerseymen. Slavery chills every ar- 
dor, and retards every improvement, and it will con- 
tinue to do so, for a lono; time to come. The colle^'-e 
is in the lowest state that is possible ; the contempt 
of the enemies of literature, the scorn of its own par- 
ticular enemies, and the pity of those who were once 
its friends. The students are twenty-eight. It is, 
however, to be observed, tliat there were about forty 
when Dr. Brown, the former president, resigned his 
office. Whether it can rise for a long time, does not 
appear to me certain — that it will shortly does not 
appear probable — but there is every reason to hope 
that it will eventually. As there are funds to pay the 
salaries, independent of the numbers of the students, 



180 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

there is some advantage, as well as disadvantage, in 
the number of the students being small at first. It 
affords an apportunity to introduce discipline with 
more ease, and more efficiently ; it affords an oppor- 
tunity for the officers to establish themselves in the 
affections of the students more deeply, and to make 
the improvement of the few more sensible to the ob- 
server. Thus much being gained, every pupil will 
aid in giving a name and character to the institution. 
We have mentioned in former letters that there are 
but few Presbyterians in and about this village, and 
no religious society formed of that denomination. 
There are a few Methodist professors, and two preach- 
ers in the immediate vicinity of the place. 

"As yet I know but little of the country, having 
been entirely employed in endeavoring to get fixed, 
and making myself acquainted with the state of the 
college. We have no garden, nor is there any mar- 
ket for vegetables ; but we have not wanted, as yet, 
in any day for a little of something to eat. All are 
kind to us, and divide freely. All seem now to be 
contented, though we have not yet had time to learn 
to be pleased. 

'' I look at Mrs. ' snuff-box sometimes, but 

it is empty and I dare not fill it. 

"With great regard and affection. 



Yours 



R. FlNLEY." 



The following very interesting communication is 
enriched with intelligence, cheerfulness, and piety. 
It is particularly valuable on account of the views it 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 181 

presents of Dr. Finley's state of mind, in his new and 
trying condition, and in full contemplation of the 
great and arduous undertaking on which he was just 
entering. 

''Athens, (Geo.) July 16tli, 1817. 
" Rev, Isaac V. Brown, 

''•Dear Sh^: — Your favor came to me most accept- 
ably, and was in all respects very gratifying. It was 
the first letter received from Jersey, except one from 

. Occupied with the main subject before him, 

he did not give one item of intelligence. 

"It is a great blessing to me that in some degree I 
have endeavored to cherish a missionary spirit, other- 
wise in the outset my situation would have been very 
undesirable. On account of health, the college was 
located quite on one side of the State, or population 
at least, where it was seldom seen, and where it cre- 
ated but little interest. Its funds, consisting of lands 
put to rent, were uncertain. The most of the lands 
are no"\v sold, realizing an hundred thousand dollars, 
only sixty as yet in operation. My predecessor left 
forty students, of which I found twenty-seven remain- 
ing. The public mind was so dispirited that the trus- 
tees had determined to abandon the institution for a 
time, had their application to your friend been re- 
fused. After being unwell, through the change of 
diet, water, and climate, for about two weeks, and 
experiencing considerable depression, my mind began 
to revive, to feel itself on missionary ground, to view 
the college as designed in the providence of God to 
16 



182 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

meliorate the condition of man and direct his heart to 
heaven. These last views fixed in my mind a strong 
belief that I was on proper ground, where, if it pleased 
the Lord, with much wisdom and self denial, with 
much industry and patience, some good, perhaps 
great good, may be done. 

"If my views of the men associated with me are 
correct, the prospect is good from them. With regard 
to other things, there is reason to hope that so far as 
an impression has been made at all it has been favor- 
able. Our nominal commencement will take place 
this day fortnight. Nominal, because owing to the 
resi<^nation of Dr. Brown, there is no senior class. 
But we shall keep up appearances. 

''A few weeks vacation Avill, I trust, afford me an 
opportunity of seeing a little of this new country. 
No religious exercises have been performed on the 
Sabbath day by the students. Next Sabbath, for the 
first, there will be a recitation on the Bible, I hope. 
The students appear willing, I am told ; though some 
say they do not believe the Bible, some that they 
never read a chapter, &c. In the village, too, about 
a dozen have expressed a willingness to be formed 
into a class for the same purpose. "When the vaca- 
tion commences, I shall endeavor to commence with 
the village youth. "We have no church formed here, 
but expect, or rather hope, to have one soon. We 
have no congregations worth a name ; yet there are 
various places in growing country towns, where young, 
enterprising clergymen might, by teaching, support 
themselves, and at the same time raise up respectable 
congregations in a few years. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 183 

"Brother, let us endeavor to be meek. Let us 
Miunger and thirst after righteousness.' My heart 
embraces, while my pen salutes, you and yours. The 
love of my heart to the Presbytery. Shall I ever see 
them more ? 

" Yours, 

'' Robert Finley. 

"P. S. — With men of reflection the colonizing 
scheme is as popular here as with you in Jersey. Go 
on, and prosper. Be firm and resolute. Life is short. 
All flesh is to come a little lower in worldly matters, 
to rise a little higher in the service of God and man. 
I have got my personal abasement. Lord grant I 
may not deserve more." 

Dr. Finley found himself now in a situation which 
to him was new and untried in itself, very critical and 
highly responsible. He had relinquished a station 
which presented a pleasing sphere of comfort and 
emolument, of honor and usefulness. He was now 
entering upon a great experiment, the result of which 
was covered with uncertainty. He was surround- 
ed with a cloud of witnesses. Li the north and 
in the south, many eyes were turned towards him, 
with high expectation and great solicitude. The du- 
ties incumbent upon him, and the interests committed 
to his management, were vastly extensive and impor- 
tant. One step of rashness or of folly might blast 
the whole enterprise. He awakens from partial re- 
pose, and summons to action all his powers. His 



184 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

first object is to understand the condition of the col- 
lege, the charge of which he has accepted. 

To illustrate the circumstances of this university, 
as they existed, at the time of Dr. Finley's under- 
taking its superintendence, and to develop correctly 
the difficulties he had to encounter, it will be neces- 
sary to give a concise history of the institution, from 
its first establishment to that period. 

The citizens of Georgia, impressed with a sense of 
the importance of providing within their own state, 
the means of sound and useful education, turned their 
attention very early to this interesting object. In 
the year 1784, the legislature of Georgia, with a 
highly commendable discretion and liberality appro- 
priated forty thousand acres of land situated on the 
northwestern limits of that State, for the purpose of 
endowing and establishing a university. * In the suc- 
ceeding year, they granted a charter to the institution, 
and appointed a Board of Trustees to superintend the 
college aifairs, giving them no authority to sell the 
lands entrusted to their care, but clothing them with 
discretionary power to use and dispose of them, in 
any otlie^' manner^ for the best interests of the infant 
seminary. The donation to the university was situ- 
ated in the heart of a very extensive tract of unap- 
propriated state lands, on its northwestern frontier, 
the settling of which was long prevented by the con- 
stant dread of savage incursions, to which it was 
frequently and sometimes fatally subject. When the 
fear of Indian barbarity began to subside, the popu- 
lation of the state to diffuse itself over this unoccupied 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 185 

region, and emigrants and speculators to visit it from 
motives of speculation and emolument — the public 
lands, a full and permanent title to which could be 
obtained at once, presented a more interesting and 
inviting object to their enterprise and avarice, than 
the college property, subject to such conditions as 
had been prescribed by the trustees of the college, to 
suit the necessities and promote the interests of the 
institution. Consequently very little of the college 
demesne, appeared likely to be taken on tenancy, and 
the endowment remained long unproductive and use- 
less. The institution receiving no other active dona- 
tion, and the corporation relying on the lands as 
their only resource, fifteen years elapsed before any 
effort could be prudently made to realize the designs 
and benefits of the charter. 

The friends of literature and of public improvement 
in general, perceiving the population of the state to 
be rapidly increasing, and feeling deeply concerned 
for the literary honor of Georgia, began to manifest 
great anxiety to see the affairs of the university 
placed in a more promising and successful train. — ■ 
Accordingly, in the year 1800, before a sufficient 
fund had accumulated from the rents of the college 
property, in conformity with the public impulse, the 
trustees resolved to commence erecting the necessary 
college buildings. Their pecuniary resources being 
very inadequate, and the impatience and importunity 
of public sentiment seeming to prohibit farther delay 
to meet the exigence of the case, and as their only 
alternative, they applied to the legislature of the 

16* 



186 BTOGRAPHY OF DR. TINLEY. 

state for authority to sell five thousand acres of the 
original appropriation, and to use the proceeds in 
erecting the contemplated edifice. In addition to 
these five thousand acres now cut ofi" from the endow- 
ment of the college, the institution sustained the loss 
of ten thousand acres more, of its most valuable lands. 
The one half was lost in a controversy with individu- 
als, and the other part fell into the State of South 
Carolina, upon the adjustment of a territorial dispute. 
By these misfortunes which were unavoidable, and, 
to appearance irreparable, the resources of the insti- 
tution were much impaired ; and in the building ope- 
rations was unavoidably incurred, a burdensome debt, 
which for seventeen years painfully embarrassed all 
the proceedings of the board of trustees. The ex- 
hausted state of the college funds forced the board 
afterwards into a system of economy and restriction 
in expenditure, which prohibited their employing a 
competent number of college officers, prevented the 
purchase of a library and philosophical apparatus, 
and very lamentably depressed the reputation and 
general aspect of the institution. 

In these disadvantageous and discouraging circum- 
stances, did Dr. Finley find the seminary over which 
he had been selected to preside — its resources impov- 
erished — its credit prostrated — its friends dishearten- 
ed — its principal officers retired from the scene of 
action — the number of students greatly diminished — 
the vital power of its government paralyzed — its edi- 
fices in a state of decay and approaching ruin. He 
was himself far from possessing the strength of con- 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FTNLEY. 187 

stitution and animation of spirit, which had imparted 
life and power to his former movements. The care 
and fatigue of his voyage and journey had also pro- 
duced a considerable impression. The country itself 
did not present to him an interesting and pleasing 
aspect. The place of his future abode did not afford 
a prospect of so much convenience and comfort to 
himself and his family, as he had been accustomed to 
enjoy and induced to anticipate. 

When we consider all these circumstances in con- 
nection, it will not appear surprising, that his spirits 
should have suffered a temporary depression. Indeed, 
had he not possessed a mind of extraordinary firmness 
and resolution he must have sunk under the weight 
of the accumulated obstacles, and discouragements 
that presented themselves on every side. 

Low, however, and reduced, as the funds of the 
institution were conceived to be, at first view. Dr. 
Finley found in the progress of his inquiries, that 
their nominal was far beyond their real value. In 
the year 1815, the legislature of the State of Georgia 
authorized a sale of the unimproved lands of the uni- 
versity, and directed the proceeds to be vested in 
bank stock. To facilitate the accomplishment of this 
measure, and to put it into the power of the trustees, 
to make a more advantageous vlisposal of the college 
lands, by giving the purchasers a reasonable credit, 
the state very liberally advanced a sum sufficient to 
enable the college to purchase a thousand shares in a 
bank, expected to go into operation soon, agreeing to 
depend upon the proceeds of the land sales for a re- 



188 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

imbursement. This arrans-ement which manifested 
liberality and public spirit in the legislature, and 
•which promises a very flattering issue, afi'orded a ben- 
efit, principally remote, and not immediate in its in- 
fluence. The bank in which the funds were vested, 
did not commence business until thesummer of 1816, 
and then its operations were founded upon only sev- 
enteen per centum of its original capital, and at the 
expiration of a year, it had demanded but little more 
than half that sum. The consequence was, that the uni- 
versity instead of deriving an immediate and exten- 
sive advantage from the change produced in the state 
of its finances, received on account of its stock, and 
from all its other resources, a sum merely sufficient 
for current expenses. When therefore. Dr. Finley 
arrived at Athens in May, 1817, he found upon a 
thorough investigation of the afiairs of the institution, 
that its funds were good only in prospect^ — that 
although the great cause of the disease was removed, 
the debility remained. 

Difficulties and discouragements, too great to be 
encountered by men of ordinary minds, tended only 
to touch the springs of his intellectual frame and to 
bring all his extraordinary powers into vigorous ex- 
ertion. The truth of this observation was strikingly 
exemplified in the case before us. Individuals of re- 
spectable talents, attainments and zeal, had yielded 
to the opposing obstructions. But Dr. Finley found 
in the circumstances of the university, a suitable 
field for the exercise of all his abilities and virtues, 
— his enterprise, his firmness, his indefatigable indus- 



BIOGRAPHY OP DR. FINLEY. 189 

try and perseverance, and his pre-eminent prudence 
and address. His character altogether was such, as 
to make him peculiarly adequate to the task, of re- 
covering the institution from embarrassment and dis- 
honor, and of raising it to prosperity and usefulness. 
Deeply impressed with a sense of the necessity of 
obtaining the decided and zealous co-operation of the 
Board of Trustees, he at first employed all his influ- 
ence with them, and endeavored to inspire them with 
a lively interest in the state of the college, and con- 
cern for the success of the contemplated operations. 
With his characteristic candor and earnestness he 
he stated to the Trustees, his opinion, that to raise 
the university to credit and usefulness, great altera- 
tions and improvements must be made immediately, 
through their instrumentality — that a philosophical 
apparatus and a respectable library must be procured 
— that the institution must be supplied with decent 
and comfortable buildings for accommodating the 
college ofiBcers and students — in order to do this, that 
some new edifices would be required, and considerable 
repairs necessary to those already erected — that the 
ofiicers of the institution should be recalled immedi- 
ately to their posts — and that the whole establishment 
should be brought with all practicable speed, to ex- 
hibit such an appearance of order and taste, dignity and 
comfort, as other literary institutions presented to 
view, and as would command respect, and operate as 
motives and inducements, with the intelligent, wealthy 
and honorable inhabitants of the southern States to 
place their sons there for the purpose of prosecuting 



190 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

and completing their education. He declared to 
them, his full persuasion, that the character of the 
college was to be redeemed, not so much, by a change 
of officers, as by a change of measures — that his 
counsels and efforts would avail but little without 
their cordial concurrence and zealous assistance. 

In this interesting and important crisis, ardent 
and impatient, to facilitate and expedite their pro- 
gress, by gaining some signal advantage in the out- 
set, he proposed and urged to the Board their 
appealing directly to the legislature of the State, in 
a respectful and importunate supplication for relief 
and aid, relying on the reasonableness of their claim, 
the usefulness of their object, and the former munifi- 
cence of that enlightened and liberal body. But 
this measure appeared to be opposed by so many 
difficulties and discouragements, that on mature de- 
liberation, it was unanimously agreed not to attempt 
its execution. 

The anxious and determined mind of Dr. Finley, 
then suggested, as a last resort, the plan of casting 
themselves directly upon the bounty of a generous 
and charitable public, with a view to obtain the 
necessary supplies. In this measure, he was cordially 
reciprocated by the Board of Trustees, who promptly 
approved and adopted the proposed system. The 
necessary arrangements were made immediately and 
agents were appointed to carry this plan into effect. 
But Dr. Finley, unbounded in his solicitude for the 
success of this measure, and unwilling to commit the 
execution of it to any other person, voluntarily 



BIOGRAPHY OP DR. FINLEY. 191 

offered his own services in the delicate and ungra- 
cious business of courting public bounty. Besides 
his earnest desire for the success of this measure, 
other important considerations induced him to engage 
in so unpleasant and laborious a service. By the 
charter of the college it was made the privilege, and 
duty of the president of the university annually to 
visit and inspect the public schools and academies in 
the State of Georgia, with a view to their general 
amelioration and success in the system of instruction 
and discipline pursued. As soon as this provision in 
the charter came to his knowlege, he expressed him- 
self in terms warmly approving of it, and resolved to 
embrace the first opportunity that presented itself, to 
enter upon this important duty of his office. Dr. 
Finley was also very desirous of becoming acquainted 
by personal observation, with the State of Georgia, 
not only in relation to the face of the country and 
its general improvements, but in regard to the char- 
acter, condition and genius of the people — all with a 
view to enable him bettei; to understand the disposi- 
tions and habits of the youth, and more successfully 
to superintend their education. From this tour, he 
anticipated much profit and pleasure in relation to all 
these objects ; but his principal desire was to obtain 
pecuniary contributions for the aid of the university. 
The period allotted, for the performance of this 
soliciting service, was that of the approaching vaca- 
tion in the college. 

The time that elapsed before the close of the ses- 
sion. Dr. Finley spent in diligent attendance upon 



192 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

the various duties of his new and important station. 
His attention was occupied principally with the daily 
instruction of the students, and with endeavors to 
give form and success to the internal regulations and 
movements of the college. He embraced the earliest 
opportunity to introduce into college the study of the 
Bible on the Lord's day. This he considered an 
important and indispensable object of attention in 
schools and seminaries of learning, through all the 
successive stages of improvement. 

While diligently occupied with the duties of his 
office, he was also anxiously engaged in devising mea- 
sures for the general improvement and success of the 
college. The preaching of the gospel, he had deter- 
mined never to relinquish while life lasted. The 
character and the duties of a pastor were endeared to 
his heart by a thousand tender and sacred ties, which 
he could never dissolve nor forget. While therefore 
supremely devoted to his professional duties, as presi- 
dent, he made it an important object to be useful at 
the same time, as far as possible, as a minister of the 
gospel. With this view he made use of the leisure 
time he enjoyed, to organize a regular Presbyterian 
congregation in the village of Athens, and to preach 
in the surrounding country wherever opportunities 
offered. It was a part of his plan, to insitute a class 
among the young people in the village, for studying 
the Bible, as soon as his circumstances would enable 
him to accomplish it. During the month of June and 
early in July, he met several times with the Trustees 
of the college, and by his prudent, dignified and 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 193 

pleasing deportment, he acquired in a very high de- 
gree the respect and confidence of that honorable 
Board. His impressive discourses, delivered from 
time to time in the village, before the citizens and 
students, had a very happy effect, and inspired uni- 
versal veneration. Indeed ^'everything seemed to 
bid fair for his being in the hand of Providence a 
rich blessing to the State of Georgia." 

The commencement in the college, which, accord- 
ing to a standing rule, took place on the last Wed- 
nesday of July, 1817, was an interesting season. 
The following account of this transaction, communi- 
cated by the Rev. Dr. John Brown, former president 
of the college, is both appropriate and pleasing: 

"The commencements in this institution are held 
on the last Wedesday of July. On the preceding 
day a commencement sermon is delivered by the 
president. Dr. Finley most happily availed himself 
of this occasion to state to a very numerous and 
respectable audience, the intimate connection between 
the growth of true science and the success of Chris- 
tianity. His text was. Matt. xxiv. 27 — ' For as the 
lightning cometh out of the East and shineth even 
unto the West, so shall the coming of the Son of Man 
be.' This might be considered as the Doctor's inau- 
gural discourse. He showed in several respects, how 
the past and present progress of Christian morals, 
was beautifully exemplified in the progress of that 
rapid and luminous element, the lightning. The sub- 
ject was happily chosen, the discourse well prepared, 
and delivered with great energy. To you, sir, who 
17 



194 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

were so well acquainted with the powers of his mind 
and his irresistible manner, I need say nothing res- 
pecting the effect. I need not tell you that every eye 
was riveted on the speaker — every heart impressed. 

" The business of the commencement day, he con- 
ducted with great dignity and with the most perfect 
ease to himself. Nothing like embarrassment or per- 
turbation of mind appeared on any occasion. His 
happy art of making the situation of his pupils easy 
and pleasant, was also manifestly exhibited. Great 
God ! how deep and how mysterious are thy ways ! 
How strange to us, that a life so useful should not 
have been spared ! When he fell, what an assem- 
blage of qualifications for filling the presidential chair 
with credit to himself and advantage to the State, fell 
with him !" 

The season of commencement having been agree- 
ably passed through, the business determined on for 
the ensuing vacation took possession of Dr. Finley's 
mind, and nothing could attract his attention from it. 
" In augenda, festinat et obruitur, re." On the sub- 
ject of this tour Dr. Brown writes in the following 
judicious and interesting manner : — 

" Had Dr. Finley been more indulgent to himself 
and less ardent in his wishes for the prosperity of 
the institution, he would have spent the six weeks of 
vacation which ensued after the commencement, in 
the enjoyment of ease with his family and little circle 
of friends in Athens and its vicinity. But his solici- 
tude that the Trustees might be able to meet engage- 
ments which he expected would be made by the 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 195 

gentleman -who had gone on for the purchase of books, 
induced him to volunteer in the business of solicitino^ 
benefactions. With this object in view he visited the 
counties of Jackson, Ogelthorpe, Wilks, Hancock, 
Green and Morgan. Some of his friends attempted 
to apprise him of the danger of leaving so healthy a 
spot as Athens, and undertaking fatigue and exposure 
during the sickly season, and indeed while a bilious 
epidemic was considerably prevalent in some of the 
lower counties ; but his mind could not be diverted 
from its favorite object. On this tour he was very 
successful in acquiring benefactions to the funds of 
the university, but imbibed the seeds of a disease that 
cut short his useful labors, and bereaved the institu- 
tion of so valuable an acquisition, in the very dawn 
of its prosperity. He had been about two months 
in college, and in about two months more he slept in 
the arms of his Redeemer." 

One paragraph in a communication from my hon- 
orable correspondent. Col. Clayton, before referred 
to, so fully confirms the above representation of his 
excellent friend, and so happily describes the outlines 
and incidents of this eventful tour, that I shall pre- 
sent it in his own words. 

" Although the necessary arrangements were made 
and the agents appointed to give efficiency to this 
scheme, yet such was the eager solicitude of Dr. Fin- 
ley, at every delay which interposed itself between his 
plans and his hopes, that he descended from the dig- 
nified station of his office, to volunteer his services in 
the ungracious task of courting public gratuity, and 



196 BIOGRAPHY or DR. FINLEY. 

subjecting himself to all the incidents of chagrin, that 
are known usually to accompany that delicate en- 
gagement. Accordingly he commenced his tour the 
latter part of July, which is the beginning of the 
sickly season in that State, and although in the short 
compass which he made, he had the satisfaction to 
have his most sanguine expectations realized, as to 
the generous spirit of the people of Georgia and their 
attachment to their university, and that his own views 
of their benevolence were not unfounded ; yet the 
knowledge of these valuable facts was obtained by a 
sacrifice far above their value ; for in this tour the 
fatal sickness w^as contracted, that bereaved society 
of one of its brightest ornaments." 

While performing this journey, a variety of objects, 
all connected with the great end contemplated, occu- 
pied Dr. Finley's attention. He did not here, even 
in the midst of secular concerns, for a moment forget 
his character as an ambassador of the Prince of Peace. 
On this point the following observations of Col. Clay- 
ton, will be found appropriate and satisfactory : — 

" He returned home on the 8th of September, after 
an absence of six weeks from his family, in which 
time he had been arduously and unceasingly engaged 
in soliciting private contributions in furtherance of 
his design, and, that his useful labors might not be 
confined to one object, he availed himself of every 
opportunity of shedding abroad the light of those 
divine truths of which he had been so long a faithful 
depository, and from whom it had so often emanated 
with such divine eftect. In this short period, by day 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 197 

and by night, in a season peculiarly unfriendly to 
mental exertion, he preached sixteen sermons. His 
constant bodily employment, under almost a vertical 
sun, exposed to heat and wet, his mind seriously and 
anxiously engaged, with a constitution and habits un- 
accustomed to the climate, joined to an unusual prev- 
alence of disease, to have escaped indisposition would 
indeed have been miraculous. AYhen therefore he 
reached home, he felt the usual symptoms of an at- 
tack, but flattering himself that the languor of his 
feelings had been produced by excessive fatigue, he 
unfortunately relied too much upon a state of rest for 
relief, and omitted such precautionary applications as 
might have averted the impending blow." 

At this period the Presbytery of Hopewell which 
embraces this district of the church, held its sessions 
at a village considerably distant from Athens. Dr. 
Finley's extreme anxiety to enjoy an interview, form 
an acquaintance, and establish a regular connection 
with that ecclesiastical body, induced him to set out 
to attend its meeting on the fourth day after his arri- 
val at home from the former tour. In relation to 
this subject, Dr. Brown writes in the following man- 
ner : — 

" It was on the close of this tour that he met with 
his brethren in the ministry, the members of the Pres- 
bytery of Hopewell, in sessions at Madison, in Mor- 
gan county. He became a member of that reverend 
body on the fifth day of September. He was received 
with great cordiality by his clerical friends, and they 
would have been very happy in administering to his 

17* 



198 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

comfort and support in his important office as presi- 
dent of the university. Few of his friends have more 
sensibly felt, or more sincerely lamented his early 
removal, than the members of the Presbytery of 
Hopewell. It is the usual practice with this Presby- 
tery to have preaching on every day during their 
sessions, and to close with the administration of the 
holy sacramental supper, on the Sabbath day. A 
great number of people attended this meeting. It 
was a very solemn occasion, and Dr. Finley appeared 
to enjoy it exceedingly. He preached several times 
during the meeting, and attempted to preach on the 
Sabbath morning, but was not able to do it. In the 
evening he was better, and after night preached a 
very solemn and interesting discourse from these 
words of our Saviour, It is finished. On Monday 
evening he got home to his family in Athens : com- 
plained of extreme languor and lowness of spirits : 
on Wednesday he attended the funeral of a person 
in whom he felt considerable interest, and a very 
deep expression was observed in his countenance 
while a neighboring clergyman was making some ap- 
propriate observations at the grave." 

Col. Clayton most justly observes that '' Dr. Fin- 
ley, too anxious to fill up the measure of his useful- 
ness, would not suffer the only remedy he had chosen 
to mitigate the force of his symptoms, to have its full 
effect : " for before repose has had an opportunity to 
produce the desired relief from lassitude of body and 
depression of mind, he engages in some new service, 
he exposes himself to some new hardship. In con- 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 199 

formity with which, Dr. Brown, after describing his 
indisposition while attending the Presbytery, and his 
exhausted condition after his return home, proceeds 
to say : 

"On Friday, though still unwell, he set out to 
attend a sacramental meeting at the distance of about 
twenty miles. This meeting had been deferred for 
some time with the expectation of enjoying the com- 
pany and assistance of Dr. Finley. Here again his 
exertions were beyond his strength. On Saturday 
he preached a most excellent sermon from Heb. xii. 
22, 23, 24 — ' But ye are come unto Mount Sion, and 
unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusa- 
lem, and to an innumerable company of angels ; to 
the general assembly and church of the first-born 
which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of 
all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and 
to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the 
blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than 
that of Abel.' I know not whether to call this his 
own funeral sermon. The view which he took of the 
light in which the gospel represents the things of the 
eternal world, and the familiar acquaintance which 
he appeared to have with them, seemed scarcely 
consistent with a longer continuafice in this. He 
saw with solemn delight in the countenances of his 
hearers the effect which preaching produced, and was 
encouraged to attempt it again on the Sabbath ; but 
although the introductory exercises were performed 
by another, he was scarcely able to go through with 
a short discourse, until he had to retire for rest. On 



200 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

Monday lie came home. On Tuesday lie lingered 
about the house, and on Wednesday he was taken 
down on the bed from which he never arose. I was 
abroad during his illness, and returned just in time to 
attend one of the most solemn funerals I ever wit- 
nessed." 

The circumstances of Dr. Finley's sickness and 
death so far as communicated to the writer, will be 
presented to the reader principally in the same words 
in which they were received. The peculiar character 
of his disease which partook of bilious and typhus 
symptoms rendered conversation extremely painful 
and difficult to him. In the commencement of his 
sickness he considered his recovery doubtful. Soon 
after he was taken, a friend was called upon to assist 
Dr. Finley in settling his affairs, and in making a 
disposition, by will, of the property which he had 
acquired by his great industry and economy. As is 
usual on such occasions, his friend asked him if any 
particular direction should be given respecting the 
manner of his burial. With a smile on his counte- 
nance, his hand on his breast, and his eyes turned 
towards heaven — "Oh no" — he replied, "I care not 
how they put me away ; I know I shall get up safe." 

At the close of a day, early in his sickness, he 
observed to a friend,, "notwithstanding it had been a 
painful day, it had been to him a very interesting 
one, as his views of the plan of salvation had been 
soul-refreshing; there was nothing of ecstasy in 
them, but solid peace and comfort." At another time 
he observed to a friend who inquired respecting his 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 201 

state, "that he had spent a delightful day; his views 
of the plan of salvation were so clear, that if it were 
not for his wife and family, he had no desire to get 

well." 

A communication received during Dr. Finley's ill- 
ness, from the Secretary of the Colonization Society 
established at Washington, giving information of its 
brightning prospects, greatly refreshed his languid 
spirit, and forced from him expressions and manifes- 
tations of peculiar satisfaction. It is much to be 
regretted that Dr. Finley's observations in this trying 
hour on the subject of colonizing the people of color, 
which, next to the plan of salvation for sinners, had 
occupied his mind for years, more than any other 
subject, could not be distinctly heard and recollected. 

Col. Clayton, who attended the Doctor's dying 
bed, writes in the following interesting manner : 

"In all his conversations during his illness, he 
never lost an opportunity to impress upon his friends 
and family some sacred truth, and would often make 
his illness contribute to that holy purpose. ^ Oh ! 
my friend,' he would say, ^all flesh is grass;' and 
then, with a calmness and tranquillity known only to 
the bosom of the truly pious, would he enforce the 
necessity of an ever present recollection of that 
solemn fact. The last Sabbath before his death, 
as if unwilling to leave the world without making a 
last effort to lead a valued friend into the paths of 
peace, and at the same time to give the most convinc- 
ing proof of his own resignation, he earnestly re- 
quested that friend to read to his congregation. the 



202 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

affecting sermon of Dr. Blair, on the subject oi death, 
from this text — 'Yea, though I walk through the 
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for 
thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff they comfort 
me.'" 

Another correspondent writes in the following 
words : 

" On the tenth day, his disorder took a favorable 
turn, and we all thought him convalescent. After 
this, I believe he never realized his danger, until the 
day previous to his decease. Indeed a general infa- 
tuation prevailed with respect to his death, we felt 
his life so important to the cause of religion, litera- 
ture and his family — but he who raises up the means, 
knows the proper time to lay aside. A lethargy from 
which it was not possible to rouse him for more than 
a few minutes at a time, made it impossible for him 
to communicate his views and feelings to his friends 
or family. A few hours before his death, beginning 
to realize his end to be approaching, I inquired of 
him if his mind was comfortable, and if his views 
were clear. He answered with much sweetness and 
composure, 'that it was as much so as his extreme 
sickness and faintness would admit.' We awakened 
him several times through the night. A few words 
only he was able to say, before he would fall asleep. 
About one o'clock I went to him and inquired how 
he felt. He said he was much revived, and perhaps 
might yet be able to recover ; expressed a desire, if 
it was the Lord's will, that he might yet live for the 
sake of his wife and dear children. This was but the 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 203 

last effort of expiring nature. In an hour after he 
awoke, almost suffocated — called for air — said he was 
going. His lips moved for some few seconds, as we 
supposed in prayer. He then sunk into a state of 
total insensibility, in which he lay nearly two hours, 
and then with a gentle sigh breathed out his soul into 
the bosom of his Saviour. The last hour of his life 
was most interesting indeed. The joy of his soul 
illumined his countenance, and rendered it the most 
interesting object I ever beheld. The very place ap- 
peared to be sanctified by the presence of the Saviour 
and the spirits of the dear departed saints who had 
been given to him as seals of his ministry, appeared 
to be waiting to be the crowns of his rejoicing." 

The reflections of a correspondent may here with 
propriety be introduced. 

" What consolation have not the friends of Dr. 
Finley experienced from his passage through this try- 
ing test ? With w^hat firmness did he sustain his sick- 
ness. How sensible of his end, and how resigned to 
the stroke. So comfortable, as he expressed himself, 
were his views of a future state, that, save the ties of 
his family, he had not a wish to remain connected 
with the cares of life." 

Dr. Finley once very piously and solemnly observed 
in conversation with a pious friend, that it sometimes 
pleased God to enter into a very sore dealing with fam- 
ilies, and even with those of his own people.* The 

*This conversation took place at the house of Col. John Neilson, 
Xcw.Brunswick, several years ago, and \vas intended for the com- 
fort of that excellent man and his amiable and pious consort, who 



204 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

dispensation of God in his providence towards the au- 
thor of that observation and his family, in the event 
we are here contemplating, furnishes an additional 
and mournful illustration of the truth and importance 
of that remark. 

The removal of Dr. Finley to Georgia, and his sud- 
den death, present an instance of darkness and mys- 
tery in the government of God, awful and impenetra- 
ble to the view of mortals. When we consider the 
importance and usefulness of the station he occupied 
at Basking Ridge, the numerous, enterprising, and 
beneficent plans in which he was engaged, the multi- 
plied difficulties which were encountered in his trans- 
lation to the south, the many peculiar and prominent 
qualifications Dr. Finley possessed for the office to 
which he was called, the favorable impression and the 
successful beginning he had made in his new sphere 
of duty, the pressing demands of the interests of sci- 
ence and religion in Georgia for the services of such 
a man, the pleasing prospect of eventual success that 
presented itself, when we consider these things, and 
take into view the size and circumstances of his fam- 
ily, the number and tender age of his children, our 
emotions can find utterance most suitably in the hum- 
ble and adoring language of the Apostle, Romans ii. 
33, "0, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom 
and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his 
judgments, and his ways past finding out. For who 

were then in deep affliction, and mourning for the sudden death of 
a beloved son at Batavia, in the East Indies — information of which 
event had recently been received. 



BIOGRAPHy OF DR. FINLEY. 205 

hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been 
his counsellor ? Of him, and through him, and to 
him, are all things, to whom be glory forever. 
Amen." 

The public mind in Georgia was deeply impressed* 

•^ In illustration of this fact, the following extract is introduced 
from a letter written by the Rev. Mr. Shepard, missionary in Geor- 
gia, to the editor of the Boston Recorder — published in the "Reli- 
gious Remembrancer," Philadelphia, November 29, 1817. 

« 
^^ Washington, (Ga.) October 14, 1817. 

" About two weeks after, we were again clothed in sackcloth at 
the melancholy tidings of the death of Dr. Finley, President of the 
University of Georgia. No death was ever more deeply felt, or 
more generally lamented, in this region than this. To this State 
the loss seems irreparable. The success which attended the few 
months of his presidency, gave us the most animating hope that 
Providence had designed him as an instrument for advancing the 
literary and religious state of Georgia. His plans of operation 
were laid with much skill, and executed with a zeal highly becom- 
ing a man in so important a station. It was in a tour through the 
lower counties, for the purpose of soliciting donations to procure 
a library for the college, that he took the seeds of the disease 
which terminated his valuable life. A dark cloud now hangs over 
the affairs of the seminary, but we know it will soon be succeeded 
by a clear sky. We know that'He Avhose " kingdom ruleth over 
all" will perfect his own work in his own time, and in his own 
manner. 

"The rising state of literature in this country, no doubt will in- 
duce the Board to renew their exertions for the prosperity of their 
rising seminary, in selecting another man without delay to fill the 
important station now left vacant." 

In a friendlv letter received from the south, bearing date April 
2d, 1818, I find the following passage, which will probably gratify 
curiosity and impart pleasure to readers concerned for the welfare 
of this bereaved institution, viz: 

" The Trustees of Franklin College have lately given a call to 

18 



206 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

and agitated by the information of Dr. Finley's death. 
Expressions of disappointment and grief at this event 
fell from every mouth. The painful impulse was ex- 
perienced from Athens to New York, but it was 
most poignantly felt in his native State. 

the Rev. Mr. Beman, a native of Vermont, who has been some 
years a resident of Georgia, and has had a large and very respect- 
able school establishment at Mount Zion. Mr. Beman is said to 
possess great energy, fine talents, and handsome address, joined 
to warm piety. The public are much pleased with the appoint- 
ment. It is both hoped and expected he will accept it." 



CHAPTER X. 

Death occurred on the Third op November, 1817. — Transactions 
OF Trustees. — Letters op Correspondence. 

Dr. Finley's death was announced to the public In 
Georgia in the following handsome and honorable 
obituary notice. 

" Died on Friday morning, the 3d instant,* the Rev. 
Robert Finlej, D. D., President of the University of 
Georgia, after a painful illness of eighteen days. His 
sickness, which was of the most violent bilious char- 
acter, he unfortunately contracted during a tour 
through several of the lower counties, on professional 
business, in August ; he returned home with the fatal 
indisposition which has imposed so distressing a wound 
upon all the relations of society. 

"Whether we consider the death of this truly pi- 
ous man, in a private or public view, the causes of 
regret multiply upon us with such successive and 
increasing rigor as to overwhelm the mind with the 
most bitter feelino-s of ano;uish. He has left an ami- 
able wife and nine children to mourn his afflicted loss. 
This family have recently been brought from the 
bosom of their friends and relations, and, by the mel- 
ancholy dissolution of its head, are now cast upon a 
land of strangers. Connected with the fortunes of 
the lamented deceased, they have forsaken some of 

* November, 1817. 



208 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

the dearest ties which can arise from a love of coun- 
try, the early scenes of nativity, or the liveliest sym- 
pathies of feeling. United with him, whose whole 
energy of soul was bent to the accomplishment of an 
all important service to this State, they, by the sep- 
aration occasioned by this awful dispensation, are now 
left friendless and unprotected upon the gratitude of 
that State. 

" In the institution, which he had so lately been 
called to preside over, he commenced the duties of 
his office with such a prompt and ardent zeal, so un- 
wearied. in his exertions, and so constant in his devo- 
ted care of all its concerns, as afforded the most cer- 
tain promise of success, and the no less gratifying as- 
surance that under his administration it was about to 
raise its languishing head. To the deep regret of this 
country, he has left the institution once more to the 
dubious issue of wayward contingencies. 

"In contemplating the private course of Dr. Fin- 
ley, the mind has a field to rest upon, lovely in pros- 
pect, unbroken in surface, and endless in variety. If 
the most fervent and durable piety can give dignity 
and respect to character — if equanimity of temper, 
steady firmness of principle, and the most unbending 
rectitude of conduct, can secure to pure and worthy 
motives their merited esteem — if the most inflexible 
benevolence of heart, constantly directed to the ad- 
vancement of charitable institutions, the relief of mis- 
fortune, the diffusion of happiness, and the increase 
of pious contentment has not lost its influence upon 
human actions, the life and death of this good man 
must offer an example full of peace and consolation 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 209 

to his family, comfort and resignation to his friends, 
and the most lasting usefulness to society. 

" The church has sustained a loss of one of its 
firmest pillars ; in all the pursuits of his life, those 
ceased to be objects of interest, when they ceased to 
subserve the purposes of religion. To a mind warm- 
ed and animated by those hopes, which devotion con- 
templates shall survive the stroke of death, he joined 
the soundest dictates of sober reflection, the cool 
and unshaken possession of judgment and the open 
and reconciling stamp of sincerity. From the pulpit 
he was accustomed to utter, graced with beauty, 
armed with the energy of the most impressive elo- 
quence, those eternal truths, which while they stand 
on '^ the Rock of ages," were winged with irresistible 
effect, when delivered with his masterly and affecting 
management, and never failed to dignify the heart, 
elevate the affections, and heighten those dread ex- 
pectations .which rest in such mysterious wonder 
beyond the limits of time." 

To exhibit the sentiments that prevailed in Geor- 
gia on this occasion, the following document, with 
which the writer has been obligingly furnished, is 
presented to the public : 

" MilledijeviUe^ Senate Chamber^ November 12, 181Y. 

" On motion of Mr. Elliot — Resolved unanimously, 
by the Senatus Acadeviiciis,'^ that the lamented 

" The body distinguished by this name, is composed of a highly 
respectable committee, appointed annually, by the legislature of 
Georgia, for the purpose of exercising a general superintendence 
over all the literary institutions in that state. 

18* 



210 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

death of the hite President Finley, having deprived 
Franklin College of an useful and highly important 
officer, the community of a conspicuous member, and 
his afflicted family of its only guide and support — 
The Senatus Academicus entertains a just sense of 
the exalted worth of the deceased, and most unfeign- 
edly mingle their regrets with those of the bereaved 
family for their common loss. And as a testimony 
of respect for the memory of Doctor Finley, they do 
strongly recommend to the Board of Trustees to con- 
tinue the salary of that officer to the end of the quar- 
ter in which he died, and to offer to his family the 
use of the President's house and its appendages until 
the same shall be required for the accommodation of 
his successor 

" And it is further unanimously resolved, that the 
eldest son of the late Dr. Finley be educated at 
Franklin College, free of any expense, so far as re- 
lates to any charges for tuition, and that a copy of 
these resolutions be handed by the Secretary to Mrs. 
Finley." 

The following extract from the minutes of the 
Board of Trustees in Franklin College will be read 
with pleasure : 

Athens, Franklin College, December 12, 1817. 
'' On motion of Mr. Clayton — Resolved unani- 
mously, by the Board of Trustees that they feel with 
full force the testimony of respect offered by the Sen- 
atus Academicus, to the memory of the late president 
of the university, and do most cheerfully acquiesce 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FTNLEY. 211 

in the measures recommended by that body, as de- 
monstrative of their veneration for the lamented de- 
ceased and their regard for his respectable family : 
And in addition to those measures, this Board further 
unanimously resolve, that the education in manner 
recommended to be bestowed on the eldest son of Dr. 
Finley be extended to all his sons, and that the sum 
of two hundred dollars be appropriated for the pur- 
pose of erecting over his grave a suitable tomb-stone, 
commemorative of his worth and services ; and that 
the Secretary of the Board hand a copy of this reso- 
lution to Mrs. Finley. 

" Resolved, that the prudential committee be au- 
thorized to sell, in such manner as they may think 
proper, any lots in the town of Athens, already laid 
off, or which may be laid off hereafter, in pursuance 
of a former resolution of this Board, passed the 31st 
of July, last, first reserving to Mrs. Finley, widow of 
the late Rev. Dr. Finley, any two lots which she 
may chose out of said range, one being a front, and 
the other a back lot ; and that the President j:>r(? tem- 
pore be authorized to make her a title to the same. 
" True extract from the minutes. 

" John Hodge, Secretary. 

The folloAving letter exhibits the subject of these 
memoirs in a very interesting point of view. No 
character could be more properly applied to him than 
that which he here sustains— the prompt and affec- 
tionate comforter of the afflicted. As this judicious, 
pious and tender communication appears likely to be 



212 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

highly gratifying and extensively useful, it is inserted 
with great pleasure, and with many thanks to the ex- 
cellent lady who first experienced its consoling power, 
and now through this channel, bestows it on the pub- 
lic for their instruction and comfort in sorrow : — 

" Basking Ridge, April 14, 1815. 
" Madam, 

" Mrs. y D spient a few minutes with 

us yesterday, after our worship on the day of nation- 
al thanksgiving, and gave us the afflicting information 
of the numerous and heavy trials with which it has 
pleased the Lord to try you. Your afflictions yet 
continue, and you perhaps begin to think they will 
never terminat'e. The ways of God are full of wonder, 
and he often makes the cloud his chariot, and the 
thick cloud his pavilion. His providence, which for 
a season appeared clear and bright, is at other times 
surrounded with an impenetrable gloom. But let us 
not despair. He remains the same, a God of sov- 
ereign mercy ^ and we through the cloud may believe 
his grace, secure of his compassion. God is love, 
nor can he cease to be so. Your afflictions appear 
to me to be more than commonly great, but yet not 
so great as the Almighty hand, which is able to sus- 
tain you. One dear babe is withdrawn from your 
bosom, and has taken off a Httle portion of your heart. 
But it is well tvith the child.'^ Dedicated to the 

* To illustrate the views of Dr. Finley in regard to the very in- 
teresting subject here involved, — to exhibit the basis on which he 
founds the sentiment here advanced it is icell with the child — and to 
place this precious article of Christian faith in a light at once clear 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 213 

Lord, and presented to him, a living sacrifice, faith 
may follow it to heaven, and contemplate it among 
the happy spirits. She will not come to you, and 

and consoling to the afflicted, the following extract from his ser- 
mon on the benefits of baptism^ &c. is introduced : — See 2d general 
head of discourse — 4th particular, page 20th of this sermon. 

'' The last blessing now to be mentioned, connected with bap- 
tism, is, that it conveys the promises of God, ' whose are the prom- 
ises.' Among these stand most conspicuous the promises : that 
those who, being baptized, die in infancy should be saved : and 
that the possession of the seal should impart to the possessor the 
power of conveying both the seal and its benefits to the rising 
generation. God commanded the seal of his promise to be put on the 
bodies of infant children and at the earliest possible period : saying, 
' I will be a God to thy seed.' To convey and secure this promise 
to Abraham, God ordered the seal of his covenant to be put upon 
the bodies of the infant seed of the father of the faithful. 'He 
gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and so Abraham be- 
gat Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day.' Acts. vii. 3. — 
What are we to suppose is meant by the promise, ' I will be a God 
to thy seed.' Are we to think that it meant nothing more, than 
that in general, God would take care of Abraham's children, as he 
had already watched over and blessed him ? Or are we to believe 
that this promise was of such a nature that it conveyed some valu- 
able blessing to every individual who became a subject of it ! It 
appears to be the fair construction, that when God promised, say- 
ing, I will be a God to thy seed, he did engage himself to every 
individual who should receive the seal of the promise. And is 
there any way in which he can manifest himself to be the God of 
those, who by the counsels of his excellent wisdom, are allotted to 
die in infancy, but by taking them to himself in glory ? To take 
them from their cradle to his heavenly life is all that he can 
do for them, as their God. I mean not here to decide unfavorably 
on the case of those who die in infancy without being baptized. — 
But I do mean to exalt the grace of God, and the eflicacy of his 
sealed promise : And that this meaning, at least in part, of the 
promise, ' I will be a God to thy seed,' is much confirmed by the 



214 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

why should you wish her back to this place of sorrow 
and sighing and pain ? The Lord has need of her in 
another state, and if the Lord requires w^ho would 
refuse ? I have often thought that the counsels of 
God may require something of the same variety, 
which we observe in this state, for our after condi- 
tion : and that therefore it is requisite that some 
babes, some tender and some full grown youth, some 
in the vigor of life and some white with age, should 
enter into heaven. 

" Your other dear child will, I trust, be spared to 
you, to be a comfort to you while you have need of 
earthly comforts ; or, should her sickness also be unto 
death, consider, that the Lord knoweth the best time, 
and she will be taken from the evil to come, and that 
you shall soon go unto her. Simeon is not and Jo- 
seph is not ; all these things are against me, said the 
aged patriarch. But it was not so. It appeared only 
for evil, but the Lord meant it only for good, and so 
it appeared plainly at the last. Perhaps the sorest 
of all your afflictions is the absence of your husband* 
in his feeble and declining state of health. Great 
indeed must be the grief which a heart of sensibility 

consideration that God suffered the seed of man to perish, by his 
despising the threatening of God, so he hath, in restoring the ruins 
of that fall, secured the salvation of the dying infant, by connect- 
ing it with the promise made to the parent. ' These are the little 
babes,' says Dr. Watts, ' who just enter into the world to die out of 
it, and who are saved from everlasting death, merely by the spread- 
ing veil of the covenant of grace drawn over them by the hand 
of a parent's faith.' " 

* Then on a journey to Georgia for the benefit of his health. 



BI0GRAPIT5f OF DR. FINLEY. 215 

would feel In a situation like to yours. Your awak- 
ened imagination represents to you his situation in 
all its aggravations. But perhaps he has strength 
and consolation given to him, which make these light 
afflictions, which are for a moment, aid him in realiz- 
ing the exceeding weight of glory, which is also eter- 
nal, and is wrought out for the saints by the distresses 
of this life. Perhaps while the outward man decays, 
the inner man is renewed day by day. In a land of 
strangers he enjoys the presence of his Father and 
his Elder Brother. A wanderer, he is making the 
greater and more speedy preparation to enter the 
city which God prepares for his saints. And should 
he, without ever reaching you, breathe out his spirit 
into the hands of Christ, his mortal part will be de- 
posited in the grave selected for him by his heavenly 
Father. What place of ending his labors could be 
so desirable ! But what if excess of grief and the 
power of disease, should remove the parents and the 
little babes ! Is it anything else, but the removal of 
the whole family, to the house not made with hands, 
eternal in the heavens, whose builder and maker is 
God ? Whatever may be the allotment of the Lord, 
all things will terminate in the glory of God, and 
your own best good. When a Christian once com- 
plained to his fellow, of the numerous sorrows of 
which he was partaker, he was answered, ^ Never 
mind it, dear brother, you shall be the happier for it 
to all eternity.' The consolations of the Lord are 
not few, nor is his ear heavy, nor is his arm short- 
ened. He is witness to your distress, who told his 



216 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

disciples, they should have tribulation in this world, 
but exhorted them to be of good cheer, for that he 
had overcome the world. He will either support and 
comfort you, or, coming forth from the place where 
he dwells, in the boundless ocdan of his infinite love, 
he will take you up to himself. My dear friend Mrs. 

Y D . desired me to write this letter, which 

I close with a sincere prayer that it may administer 

a little comfort. 

"In the common Saviour, 
"Yours, 

" Robert Finley." 

Additional letters, received from a gentleman of dis- 
tinguished respectability, with whom Dr. Finley 
kept up a very free and friendly correspondence 
for many years. 

''Basking Ridge, June 12, 1810. 
'' Dear Sir, 

" I have copied over the letter which you were 
pleased to return to me, that I would make some 
small alterations in it to fit it for the magazine. I 
found considerable difficulty in making the thing as 
perfect as it is. The subject matter was gone from 
me, and I found in the copy put into my hands many 
words, and these all leading ones, left out. I felt 
rather reluctant to do any thing with it. But how 
could I resist the wish of a man who has done me 
many kindnesses, and of a lady whom I much esteem 
in the Lord ? I do not know that it will be of suffi- 
cient value for the magazine, but I will submit it to 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 217 

your pleasure. Sometimes the exercises of dying 
men, when represented in a lively manner, produce a 
deep effect on others. There is something very 
striking to us in the feelings of persons who are in 
the very situation in which lue must be by and b}^ I 
was informed two weeks ago of a ivorldly, fashionable, 
sensible lady of my acquaintance, who spent two days 
and nights to observe the emotions of a pious, godly 
neighbor. I know nothing of the effect produced. 
But the man went full of triumph. On a very 
great change taking place in him, he asked his friends 
if it was death. They answered that he was dying. 
Upon this he said, '' Glory be to the Lord, the hour 
of deliverance is come." 

"A letter attends this for Mrs. M — and Mrs. 

L . I meant to write to the latter on the subject 

of female societies for prayer. 

"Yours, 

"Robert Finley." 

^'Basking Ridgr^ July 20, 1810. 
'•Dear Sir. 

"1 received your favors of June 28 and July 10, 
the day before yesterday, by one and the same mail. 
I know not by what means the one of June has been 
delayed. It bears the post mark, Newark, July 12th. 
Having received your answer, I shall consider master 

B as one of my supplies next fall, and shall 

expect him to quarter with A , who is in good 

health and doing as usual. 

" As you have made no mention in either of your 
letters of receiving 'the old letter new vamped,' or 
19 



218 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

my letter to Mrs. M , I have been apprehensive 

those letters may have miscarried. Both I and Mrs. 

Finley are grieved to hear of Mrs. M 's want of 

health, but hope our compassionate Lord and almighty 
Physician will soon heal her. It gives us pleasure 
that she is ' slowly recovering.' When her frame, 
strengthened by the everlasting arm, shall have 
shaken off disease, she will soon be perfectly recov- 
ered. What a thick veil a little disease draws over 
the scenery of this world. Blessed be the Lord, there 
is a land the inhabitants whereof doth never say, I 
am sick. There may our weary souls refresh them- 
selves in the bosom of our Creator. The diseases of 
my soul are my worst diseases, especially spiritual 
sloth, arising from the want of that faith which is 
*the substance of things hoped for.' This is much 
increased by the spiritual death, in which a large 
part of my people are sunk. Yet I know of a small 
number who are considerably alarmed at their situa- 
tion. But they are not taking by violence the king- 
dom of heaven ; they are not striving and pressing 
into it ; their convictions remain, but they are ready to 
die. 0, that the Lord would be pleased to strengthen 
them. When I urge them, in personal address, they 
weep and tremble ; when I visit them again, I find 
them nearly as before. I suspect they very much 

resemble the state of our friend Mr. . He is not 

easy, but his impressions do not urge him on. He 
waits for the moving of the waters ; but does not con- 
sider that the angel of the covenant has moved them 
once for all, and that they are always healing. He 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 219 

sees that something is wrong, but does not feel that 
all is lost. He thinks that religion may be necessary, 
but he means to have it by and by, and not now. If 
he had as much of the grace of God as his heart could 
contain he might be an excellent man indeed. If I 
find an opening, and any liberty, I shall probably 
write him on this subject. Perhaps the best way is 
to make an opening, and trust to the Lord for liberty. 
Be pleased, sir, to accept my thanks for your kind- 
ness, relative to the money transaction, and believe 
me to be, with very great regard, 

" Yours, 

" Robert Finley. 

"N. B. I found one of my people the other day 
emancipated from the terrors of hell and slavery of 
Satan and rejoicing with most exceeding joy." 

Basking Ridffe, August 9j 1811. 

''Bear Sir : I think our common friend, Mr. W , 



informed me by letter that you, or some friend of 
yours, wished to have the filling of the first vacancy 
that might occur in the school. I now foresee that 
in the beginning of November there will be a place 
for four, three being about to go to colleges. And 
three fine scholars and orderly young men they are. 
You will be pleased to signify, at your leisure, Avhat 
may be your wishes on this subject. Last spring a 

Mr. V , an ofiicer, I think, in one of the banks, 

spoke to me on the subject of a son of his. Mr. 
W stated to me that he was a man of excellent 



220 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

and pious character. I believe I signified to him 
that he should have early notice of any vacancy that 
might happen; that if his son was not placed accord- 
ing to his wish he njight have an opportunity to send 
him to our academy. Since I saw you last I have 
been very busy, as indeed I generally am. I have 
been catechising the youth and children of my con- 
gregation , and, having found a small number who ap- 
peared to be seriously exercised with the great truths 
of religion, I have been visiting a good deal. I per- 
ceive something more than ordinary on divers of my 
people's hearts. Here and there a mercy drop fallen 
down. But, alas, the fierce sun of temptation threat- 
ens to dry up all again, like as the few scattering 
drops from a cloud are dried up by the scorching sun. 
There is an operation on their hearts, but it does not 
appear yet as that soul travail^ which usually pre- 
cedes the new birth. I have endeavored to fan the 
flame, but my own heart, like theirs, is only half 
awake and half alive. Yet I trust that God will give 
me some few at this time who shall reign with Him 
forever. I met one old man the other day who I do 
think is made alive to God by the spirit of Jesus 
Christ ; and one woman, in the caves of the rocks, 
who begins to see men as trees walking. Pray for 
us, dear sir, that the Gospel may be glorified among 
us. The day before yesterday I went, in company 
with another clergyman, to a neighboring church, 
where there is something of a special display of the 
mercy of God. It was in a distant corner, among the 
hills, nine or ten miles from my residence. I think 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 221 

it was a solemn season to most, and a precious season 
to many. The house not being capable of containing 
the great multitude of rich and poor, but especi- 
ally the last, we seated ourselves on seats on the 
house green, under some aged willows and locusts. 
There were full five hundred persons, who behaved 
as discreetly as ever you saw the same number do in 
a country church, for a little more than three hours, 
while the worship lasted. One lady said, who had 
never seen an assembly for worship out of doors, when 
she drew near and saw such a scene, that it appeared 
at first a fairy scene ; but when she got near enough 
to hear the minister, the scene appeared to be laid in 
the first heavens. So you perceive that it has wrought 
on some imaginations. May the Lord send his Spirit 
to all hearts. The leaven of God continues to work, 
and the mass must be leavened. Amen. Have you 
come into your new church yet? I hope to have my 
little babe baptized next Monday. By the grace of 
God we are all well. A and Master B re- 
main as before, good boys, and good scholars. Mrs. 

Finley sends her Christian love to Mrs. M and 

family, not forgetting your daughter Mrs. . I 

unite with her, and to you, sir, I tender the assu- 
rances of my great respect. 

^' Yours, 

*' Robert Finley." 

'■^Basking A' /r/^c, December 19, 1814. 
" Dear Friend, 

" For some considerable tim.e back I have felt a 

desire that the agreeable correspondence we formerly 

19* 



222 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

carried on should be renewed, and especially since I 
was informed that you had experienced some adverse 
dispensations of Providence. The disappointments of 
several of my best and dearest friends, occasioned to 
me a great many reflections on the vanity and uncer- 
tainty of all worldly views and calculations, and the 
little that I had fondly called my own appeared ready 
to take wings and fly away. Indeed I have not been 
able to escape entirely the devastation of this day of 
disaster and of judgment, but have suff'ered a consid- 
erable diminution of that moderate abundance which 
some time ago I enjoyed. However, I desire to be 
submissive, and to see the hand of the Lord in all 
that concerns me. Your case and situation have been 
often present with me, and I have longed to know 
what door would be opened for you. In some former 
states of society, and of commerce, it would have been 
but the misfortune of a day, and to-morrow would 
have seen you rising into business and afiluence. But 
this I know, the Lord knoweth how to deliver the right- 
eous out of trouble, and he can open a thousand chan- 
nels, when he will, to pour down comforts upon his 
people. May I not hope that already something is 
presented to your view suited to your convenience and 
wishes. It is a day of sad rebuke, and judgment be- 
gins at the house of God. But, though it begins at 
them, and they appear for a moment to be the mark 
for the arrows of the Almighty, yet it shall pass away 
from them, and when he has afflicted them a little he 
will give them deliverance and put a song of deliver- 
ance into their mouths. How far the Lord means to 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 223 

proceed in his present course I do not know, nor can 
any one form any conception ; but from the dark clouds 
which hang over us it would seem that the fury of the 
storm is not passed away. There is yet no reforma- 
tion of heart and life, no amendment of our ways, no 
returning unto the Lord. Alas, in my own charge 
the most sad declension of the life of God is experi- 
enced. Where have fled all those pleasing expectations 
on which our hearts rested with so much delight ! Were 
they only the pleasing reveries of a gilded imagina- 
tion ? No, they were the smiles of our gracious Fa- 
ther previous to the day of chastisement which was to 
come upon all the earth. We, through the cloud, be- 
lieve his grace, secure of his compassion still. Though 
the clouds should return after the rain, yet at last the 
storm will disperse, and the sunshine of the divine fa- 
vor will rest upon his people and on the world. Are 
we not, however, to look for some heavier judgments 
upon our land? It appears to me we are to experi- 
ence more ; but his people who have felt the first of 
the affliction shall be delivered and set free at the last. 
Oh, could I feel a spirit of prayer, could I see the 
hearts of God's people mourning and contrite, it would 
refresh me, and make me believe the vengeance was 
going by. But as blindness happened in part to Is- 
rael, so blindness has not only come upon the nation 
but even on the people of the Lord, so that as yet 
we see but imperfectly the dealings of the Lord. 
Party, passion, strife, infatuate us, and prepare us for 
farther judgments. But why should we spend all our 
time in mourning and complaints ? Ilath the Lord 



224 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

forgotten to be gracious ? Hath he in anger shut up 
his tender mercies ? Will he be favorable no more ? 
Zion saith, indeed, " The Lord hath forsaken me and 
my Lord hath forgotten me." But it is not so. Zion 
spoke the language of a weak disconsolate woman. 
She spoke, too, the language of her fainting sons. 
But the walls of Zion are ever before the Lord, and 
on the palms of his hands are graven all the names of 
her sons. In a few minutes I expect to set out to 
visit a few sick, and to preach to a disciple hindered 
from the sanctuary by long disease. The subject — 
1 Corinthians, iii. 22, 23, For all things are yours, 
w^hether life or death, &c. May the Lord increase 
my faith and yours in these words. They suit every 
case, and answer every purpose. For some months 
Mrs. Finley has desired to visit New York, and among 

her friends to see Mrs. . She is yet hindered 

by many cares, but hopes to come after a little. The 
academy is sufficiently supplied. Let the bush that 
burned, and was not consumed, be in your remem- 
brance. And may the Lord who appeared in the 
bush bless you. This is the sincere prayer of, 
"Dear sir, your sincere 

and affectionate friend, 

"KoBERT Finley." 



CHAPTER XI. 

Character of Dr. Finley— Review of his past course— Notice 
OF HIS Sermons — Labors — Death. 

Dr. Finley had no ambition to excel as a fine 
writer, or to acquire fame as an author. His great 
excellence consisted in prudent and useful action. 
The sermons which he published and which are his 
only publications, were modestly and reluctantly 
yielded through the importunity of friends, rather 
than ostentatiously offered by himself to the world. 

The first of his sermons bestowed upon the public, 
was a funeral discourse, "on the victory of Christ 
over death," delivered at the interment of the Rev. 
William Boyd, in the congregation of Lamington on 
the ITth day of May, 1807, from the following 
^yords : — 1 Corinthians xv. 54. " So when this cor- 
ruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this 
mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be 
brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is 
swallowed up in victory." 

Notwithstanding the evidences of haste in prepa- 
ration, which it exhibits, this is an edifying and 
solemn discourse on a most interesting subject. The 
concluding paragraph presents a striking summary of 
Mr. Boyd's numerous and prominent excellences of 
character — and also a just specimen of Dr. Finley 's 
taste in composition at this early period : 



226 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

"Affection and esteem induce me to speak a little 
of the character of this man of God. In doing this 
I shall less comply with what is customary on such 
occasions, than to do that which is pleasant to myself 
His Creator endowed him with an intellect, strong 
and vigorous — with a mind clear and distinguishing. 
This, combined with a retentive memory and much 
early reading, had furnished him as a fit companion 
for the man, the gentleman and the scholar. He had 
wit without severity, sprightliness without levity, and 
knowledge without ostentation. Equally ready for 
easy conversation or profound investigation, no man 
ever found himself uneasy in his society. Never in 
his usual intercourse, either inviting or avoiding con- 
tested subjects^— few men could boast that they had 
foiled him in solid argument. The great use which 
he made of his retentive memory was to lay up the 
rich treasures of Sacred Scriptures. Of these he had 
gathered perhaps as large a store, as any of his time. 
And the happy use which he had made of his discern- 
ing mind was, to be sound in the faith. The doctrines 
of the Reformation were his great delight. They were 
the theme of his discourse, the objects of his faith 
and the comfort of his soul. He preached them while 
he lived; he rejoiced in them in his dying hours. He 
was far less concerned to find out new things, than to 
make a wise improvement of truths already known. 
He walked in much humility and was a lively example 
of the meekness and gentleness of Christ. I came not 
here, however, so much to praise my friend, as to 
bury him ; not so much to bring his virtues to the 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 227 

light, as to assist in committing his body to the tomb. 
His burial, without pomp, is splendid, all good men 
attending him. His name is venerable without the 
praises of funeral address, all good men lamenting 
his departure. But I cease to speak more of him. 
His praise hath long since been in all the Churches, 
and his name is now embalmed in every Christian 
heart." 

[See this discourse printed in New Brunswick by 
A. Blauvelt— 1807.] 

Soon after this. Dr. Finley was induced to present 
to the public his very respectable " Sermon on the 
Baptism of John, showing it to be a peculiar dispen- 
sation and no example for Christians" — from the fol- 
lowing text — Acts xix. 5 — " When they heard this 
they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus." 

The subject of baptism in general, and especially, 
the question respecting the proper mode and subjects 
of it, was at this period much agitated and discussed, 
in the pulpit and in the private circle. Dr. Finley's 
sermon was considered very seasonable and very use- 
ful. Its general object, which is faithfully and suc- 
cessfully pursued, is indicated in the title above 
inserted. The discourse displays clearness of discri- 
mination, strength of argumentation, considerable 
critical skill and literary research. As it was expected 
to be considered in some measure controversial, in its 
nature, it was written with much more care and accu- 
racy than the former discourse. This sermon raised 
Dr. Finley's reputation, as a man of sound intellect 
and promising usefulness. [See this discourse — print- 
ed by ^^Shepard KoUock— Elizabethtown— 1807."] 



228 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

This sermon was followed, in the next year, by Dr. 
Finley's distinguished and popular, " Discourse on 
the nature and design, the benefits and proper sub- 
jects of baptism," from Acts ii. 39. "For the promise 
is unto you and to your children, and to all that are 
afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall 
call." 

This sermon in itself, possesses great originality 
and merit ; and it was published under circumstances 
calculated to give it an increased estimation with the 
public : — in connection with Dr. Smith's truly finished 
and eloquent sermon on the same general subject, and 
with the full approbation of that eminent author. 
They were both published by "B. B. Hopkins & Co." 
of Philadelphia. Dr. Smith, in his preface, refers 
to Dr. Finley's sermon in the following words — " I 
can with pleasure refer to a discourse of the Rev. 
Robert Finley on the same subject, for a more ample 
elucidation of several points, from the analogy which 
subsists between the Mosaic and the Christian dispen- 
sations." 

This sermon of Dr. Finley is extremely valuable 
and interesting, and ought to be possessed and studied 
by every parent. The matter comprised under its 
second head, is principally new, and calculated strik- 
ingly to represent the importance of this evangelic 
ordinance. 

These discourses together, probably present as able 
and interesting a view of the subjects treated and 
sentiments maintained in them, as can be found 
within the same limits, in our language. 

In connection with the preceding subject, to show 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 229 

Dr. Finley's views of the important practical question, 
so much discussed recently in the Presbyterian 
Church, relating to the exercise of ecclesiastical dis- 
cipline over baptized persons, the following extract, 
from the session records of the congregation of Bask- 
ing Ridge, is introduced : 

'* December 31, 1807. — The session entered into a 
free conversation on the question — are all baptized 
persons proper subjects of the dicipline of the church, 
and if so, how far will it be proper, at this time, to 
attempt the diciplining of baptized persons, who are 
not members in full communion ? — It was agreed 
unanimously, that baptized persons, from their relation 
to the church, not only may^ but ought to experience 
the care and attention of the church — Whereupon : 

" 1. Resolved, that the session of this church will in 
future extend their care to all persons, who by bap- 
tism are subjected to its government. 

" 2. Resolved, that a register be kept, of all families 
belonging to this congregation, for the inspection of 
the session at their meetings. 

'' 3 That there be four resiular meetinnrs of the ses- 
sion in each year, for the purpose signified in the 
first resolution, on the following days — 

" 4. Resolved, that the dicipline to be administered 
to those not in full communion, shall never extend to 
calling them before the session, but only to counsel 
and admonition, and finally to a formal notice, that a 
continuation in sin will expose them, to be recorded 
as excluded from the privileges of the church, which 
might belons^ to them." 
20 



230 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

Mr. Finley was requested to explain and enforce 
this subject, in his public discourses, at a proper time. 

Two additional sermons, which were published in 
the '^ New Jersey Preacher," in July, 1813, com- 
plete the list of Dr. Finley's publications — The one 
from Matthew v. 14. entitled " The disciples of Christ 
the light of the world :" — the other from Philippians 
iii. 9. — " The benefits resulting from being found in 
Christ." 

In these discourses, Dr. Finley appears to have 
aimed principally to be useful. They are such as his 
talents and piety would naturally and easily produce, 
and they are such as the editors of the New Jersey 
Preacher solicited from him — full of evangelic truth 
and vital godliness. Their style is more graceful 
and agreeable than that of his former productions. 

Dr. Finley manifested great indifference with re- 
gard to the dress of his ideas. In this respect, he 
resembled many of the learned and excellent Scottish 
preachers and philosophers to whom he bore so near 
an alliance. His Creator had not endowed him rich- 
ly with those delicate sensibilities and nice perceptions 
of taste, necessary to eminence in elegant composi- 
tion : and he voluntarily permitted his capacity for 
this kind of excellence, to remain in a great degree, 
uncultivated. His grammatical and rhetorical im- 
provements were ample. But while he successfully 
communicated his knowledge to others, he seemed, 
from choice, to make no effort to employ it to his 
his own advantage in writing. Perspicuity, strength, 
and effect, were the great things at which he aimed : 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 231 

Ornament lie did not emplo}^ A correct skill for 
the collocation of words in a sentence and harmonious 
sounding of periods, he did not possess. His style 
sometimes exhibits a want of ease and smoothness, 
in arrangement and expression. " But there is in 
his negligence a rude inartificial majesty."* And 
the good sense, the uniform simplicity, the unaffected 
earnestness, and the excellent spirit, which character- 
ize his discourses, render them highly respectable and 
agreeable. Had he written more he would have 
w^ritten better. Our great regret is that we possess 
so few of these pious and precious productions of his 
uncommonly strong, elevated and sanctified mind. 

In presenting a summary view of this eminent ynan 
of God, we are called to contemplate an unusually 
pleasing combination and variety of peculiar excel- 
lences. 

Dr. Finley's person exceeded the ordinary size of 
men : he was about six feet in stature ; erect and well 
proportioned ; wide across the shoulders and deep 
through the breast ; grave and contemplative in his 
appearance ; deliberate and dignified in his move- 
ments. The lineaments of his face were peculiar, 
and the expression of his countenance was striking. 
His hair, naturally black, was considerably whitened 
by the lapse of years and the toils of life. His fore- 
head was unusually capacious and commanding. His 
eyes were blue, marked with a mixture of mildness 
and severity. His cheek bones were high and prom- 
inent. His nose, above the common size, was on the 

* Rambler. 



232 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

Roman model. His whole mien exhibited traces 
of Scotch extraction. Compliance and decision, gen- 
tleness and asperity, the winning softness of concilia- 
tion and affection, and the uncoiirtly sternness of a 
strong, original, self-possessed mind, seemed to min- 
gle their traits, and to give variety, interest and en- 
ergy, to the expression of his face. 

The outlines of his character corresponded with 
his personal appearance. The features of his mind, 
original and peculiar, were conformed to no living 
model. Firmness and independence, in him, consti- 
tuted signal and distinguishing traits. In conversa- 
tion and acquaintance, he was open and candid, yet 
considerate and cautious : he was dignified without 
ostentation; authoritative and determined, without 
arrogance or disdain : in opinion, he was steadfast 
and faithful to himself, but not intolerant to others : 
he was reluctant to admit an unfavorable impression 
respecting any person, slow to manifest it even to an 
enemy : he was plain and easy in manners ; sufficient- 
ly attentive to person, dress and equipage to be re- 
spectable, but decidedly opposed to show and splendor, 
to all compliance with useless forms and frivolous 
fashions. In receiving and entertaining a friend, he 
exhibited a singularly agreeable mixture of careless- 
ness and simplicity, with cordiality and satisfaction. 

The utmost frankness and sincerity ran through 
all his actions. Mean compliances, little artifices, 
cunning subterfuges, he utterly abhorred. In the 
latter years of his life, especially, a high degree of 
Christian gentleness and meekness, was remarked in 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 233 

his deportment. It was indeed eminently true of 
Dr. Finlej, that whatever was originally unhappy or 
w^rong, in his temper or deportment, he controlled, 
corrected and changed, while, at the same time, the 
high gifts of God, and the natural excellences of his 
character, from good sense, from principle and from 
grace, he perseveringly and successfully cultivated 
and employed, until he was called to the general as- 
sembly of the spirits of just men made perfect. 

As a pastor, Dr. Finley has rarely been excelled. 
His preaching, like himself, was not resembled to any 
known standard. He was often heard to say, that in 
early life, he was much attracted and influenced by 
the powerful eloquence and profound discussions of 
the Rev. Dr. Samuel S. Smith, from whom, in part, 
he received his theological instructions. For that 
great man, he entertained, all his days, a very high 
esteem and veneration. Bat his genius was so 
peculiar and unaccommodating, and the native im- 
pulses of his mind towards something original and 
unusual, in thought, expression and action, so strong, 
that he could not bring himself to attempt imitation, 
or conformity to any proposed example. Therefore, 
casting himself upon the resources of his own mind, 
yielding to its strong, original impulses, and to the 
directing and governing influence of lively religious 
feeling, he pursued a new track, and formed a charac- 
ter, 8ui generis^ which was generally admired. 

In public prayer, Dr. Finley's manner was slow, 
but earnest ; simple, but solemn. He was remark- 
able for making frequent and long pauses, especially 

20-^ 



234 BTOf4RAPIlY OF DR. FTNLEY. 

in the beginning of this service. The thoughts and 
views which presented themselves, appeared so deeply 
to occupy and engross his mind, that he could scarcely 
proceed from sentence to sentence. His prayers were 
sensible, pious and devout. He was mighty in the 
scriptures, and hence his devotional performances 
were enriched with a great variety of appropriate 
scripture language. In consequence of his great zeal 
and devotedness, in this part of the service of the 
house of God, it was sometimes carried to an unusual 
length, but never so far as to become tedious and 
uninteresting. 

Lecturing on portions of the scriptures, was with 
him a favorite mode of instruction, from the pulpit. 
And, in pursuing this plan he manifested superior 
skill and judgment, in selecting, illustrating and 
applying the most important and useful matter which 
the passages suggested. A series of lectures, which 
he delivered to his congregation at Basking Ridge, 
on the epistle to the Romans, has been represented, 
by persons highly competent to judge, and who had 
the happiness to hear them, as displaying in a very 
high degree, masculine vigor of understanding, fer- 
vent zeal, and eminent practical piety. 

Dr. Finley was one of the most highly approved 
and useful preachers of his day. In his theological 
tenets, he was purely and rigidly orthodox. Divinity, 
in its various branches and departments, had been the 
subject of his laborious, constant and delightful study. 
The word of God was indeed habitually the man of 
his counsel, the subject of his meditation, and the re- 



BIOGRAPHY or DR. FTNLEY. 2.^5 

joicing of his heart. His experimental acquaintance 
with the operations of God's Holy Spirit, and with 
the exercises of the soul under divine influence, was 
deep and thorough. His sermons exhibited a copi- 
ousness of valuable matter, judicious arrangement, 
clearness of illustration, strong reasoning, animating, 
practical piety, and irresistible power. The senti- 
ments with which he was regarded, as a preacher of 
the gospel, consisted more of that high esteem, strong 
•approbation, and pious satisfaction, which sound sense 
warm piety, and great exertions in a Christian minis- 
ter produce, than of that light admiration and applause 
excited by fine talents, finished sentences, brilliance 
of fancy, and cultivated gracefulness. He captivated 
the heart more than the imagination, and secured the 
approbation of the former more than the admiration 
of the latter. 

If we were to analyze his intellectual powers, and 
his qualifications for eminence as a public speaker, 
and judge of them by the principles of taste and the 
rules of eloquence, as separated from the object to 
which they were devoted, from the service in which 
they were employed, and from the effect they always 
produced, we should not pronounce them of the highest 
order. His voice was loud and commanding, rather 
than sweet and melodious-^his elocution Avas stronir 
and significant, rather than easy or graceful — his 
gestures bore an appearance of stiffness and negli- 
gence — he did not ordinarily employ unusual excel- 
lence of speech, or tJie enticing laords of mans ivis- 
dom. Notwithstanding, he possessed and manifested 



236 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

a peculiar power and capacity to engage and impress 
the hearer's mind. This we are assured was the fact, 
in the metropolis of the nation. We are furnished 
with ample evidence, that this was the case, among 
the wealthy and cultivated citizens of Georgia. In 
the populous cities of New York, and Philadelphia, 
few preachers commanded more large and solemn 
assemblies. And, through his own State, in town 
and country, he was heard with the greatest attention 
and pleasure. 

The effect usually attendant upon his preaching, 
was not produced by an artful, studied appeal to the 
passions, nor by the play of a sprightly and vivid 
imagination, nor by any premeditated stroke of elo- 
quence. It was rather an effect naturally and imper- 
ceptibly created by his easy, earnest and solemn 
manner of address. On ordinary occasions, without 
effort and without design, he would gently draw the 
attention, gradually interest the hearer, steal on the 
sensibilities and affections of the mind, and so, imper- 
ceptibly bring the whole understanding and heart, 
into a state of painful commotion, or of pleasing cap- 
tivity. The hearer would be pleased, impressed and 
affected — yet he could scarcely tell why. On sur- 
veying the preacher, his talents and faculties, in an 
abstract point of view, he would find little, of an 
extraordinary nature, to admire : but on placing him- 
self asjain under the same voice and in similar cir- 
cumstances, the same or a greater effect would cer- 
tainly follow. The. Creator had endowed Dr. Finley, 
with uncommon powers, which could be distinctly 



BTOGRAPnY OF DR. FINLEY. 2o7 

perceived, and which were extensively felt, but which 
cannot be fully described. It may be said, in 
general, that he saw clearly, felt strongly, and 
expressed himself with solemn earnestness — that 
sometimes his imagery was bold and striking, his 
description frequently rapid, ardent and overwhel- 
ming. After all, in estimating Dr. Finley's powers 
and oratory, we ought not to lose sight of the impor- 
tant truth, that the power of the spirit of the most 
high God, often rested on his head, penetrated his 
heart, and pervaded the hearts of his hearers and 
produced effects as wonderful as they were divine. 

In those interesting seasons, of awakening and 
revival, which agitated his own mind with strong 
feeling and prompted him to corresponding efforts, he 
sometimes exhibited a spectacle in the sacred desk, 
which cannot now, after the lapse of many years, be 
contemplated without lively emotion. Then especially 
he was enabled to speak in demonstration of the Sjnrit 
and with 2>oiver. The multitude often listened with 
astonishment, and wept and trembled before him. 
They saw, that he preached, not to secure to himself 
Si name, but for them a crown. Pious sensibility and 
thoughtless hardness, were often deeply moved under 
his awakening discourses. His descriptions, com- 
parisons and illustrations were often highly original, 
significant and striking. 

During the oiit-pouring of the Spirit in 1803, he 
was preaching, at a particular time, on the atonement 
and priesthood of Christ. In the progress of his dis- 
course, after the subject in general had been pretty 



238 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

fully explained, and the work of Christ as Saviour, 
illustrated, he made a strong effort to convince sin- 
ners of the danger of neglecting Christ : — he repre- 
sented their guilt and misery without Him in strong 
and suitable language : — he described them as ap- 
proaching an awful precipice, beneath which the bil- 
lows of divine wrath were rolling in fearful majesty : — 
every eye was fixed in deep and silent attention : — 
the breaking surges of divine vengeance seemed to 
send up a dreadful echo to the preacher's voice: — 
just at this moment of trembling anxiety, the speaker, 
as if to rescue the multitude from the dreadful ruin 
to which they were rushing, placed himself between 
them and the frightful brink : — and there, his coun- 
tenance speaking terror and amazement, with ges- 
tures suited to his shrill, alarming notes, he cried out 
— "stand back — stand back — Oh! sinners, let me 
push you from this fiery deep!" — An electrical im- 
pulse could not, more rapidly, have pervaded the 
house : — the assembly, in general, appeared in a half 
rising posture, as if starting to recede with horror, 
from the abyss before them. 

Dr. Finley in discharging various other pastoral 
duties, and in his intercourse with society, was as 
remarkable and perhaps as useful as he was in the 
pulpit. Whether solicited or not, he visited the sick 
of every age and of every character. The house of 
afiliction he delighted to frequent and to bless with 
his instructions and prayers. The funeral attentions 
and services which he rendered, in his extensive con- 
gregation, were very numerous and often very labori- 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 239 

ous. "With great solicitude and diligence Avould lie 
search for impressed and inquiring souls, that he 
might impart encouragement, relief and comfort to 
the troubled mind. It was his custom on at least one 
day of every week, and frequently more, to mount 
his horse towards evening, and proceed slowly and 
solemnly towards some retired corner of his congre- 
gation, there, by appointment to meet a little assem- 
bly of immortal creatures, often of the obscure and 
indigent, to pour out his soul before them, in instruc- 
tions, entreaties and prayers, for their everlasting 
salvation. He appeared to be always engaged in the 
sacred business of his profession. When he went 
about, like his great Master and model, it was to do 
good. In the friendly visit, the occasional call, the 
unexpected interview^, by the fireside or on the way, 
he was a witness and a monitor for God. He carried 
w^ith him, a savor of piety, which made him alike 
precious to the good, and venerable to the wicked. 
His moral temperament was warm and active, and his 
religious frames, his faith and love, his spiritual hopes 
and comforts, through divine grace, were rendered so 
uniform and uninterrupted in their character and 
influence, that he was always alive on the subject of 
religion, and to the interests of souls. Hence, it ap- 
peared to be in a very peculiar degree, as his meat 
and Ms drink to do the luill of Him that sent him. 

His ordinary conversation was uncommonly plain, 
judicious and sensible, always interspersed and en- 
riched with pious remarks and reflections. Practical 
piety was interwoven with all the ordinary and extra- 



240 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

ordinary feelings, views, and transactions of his life, so 
that he was, "a burning and a shining light," shedding 
abroad his salutary radiance, equally in public and in 
private. No person could spend, even a short time 
in his company, w^ithout being highly pleased, and 
receiving some useful hints, or seasonable instruction. 
His common observations on every subject bore marks 
of wisdom, propriety and force. His society being 
very agreeable and useful, was highly appreciated by 
all classes of people. He possessed in a remarkable 
degree, the faculty of inspiring confidence, esteem 
and regard for him, in the minds of others, young 
and old, cultivated and plain, acquaintances and 
strangers. To this faculty, in a considerable degree, 
is to be attributed the popularity and influence which 
Dr. Finley so extensively shared, in the church and 
in the world. 

As a man of sound scholarship and useful science, 
few men have ranked higher. He had been early and 
constantly an attentive observer of human life and 
so became well versed in knowledge of the world. 
His philosophical attainments were very thorough and 
respectable. As he studied to extend his capacity 
for usefulness, more than to acquire fame, his im- 
provements were solid rather than splendid, and 
consisted in an extensive enlargement of the under- 
standing rather than in a cultivation of the finer 
powers of taste and imagination. Splendor and ad- 
miration, were in his view, things of very little value. 
Hence solidity of thought, fertility of resource, 
strength of conception, appeared to him vastly more 



BIOGRAPHY OP DR. FINLEY. 241 

important and desirable, than the most improved 
capacity to embellish, amuse and fascinate. There 
was in his mind and character a constitutional pro- 
pensity to grasp the strong and prominent points of 
every subject and every science, and this propensity 
he cherished and indulged from principle. He per- 
ceived the stronf]^ and urfi;ent demands of the church 
for his active services ; he felt that life was too short 
and his powers too feeble to accomplish all he would 
wish; and hence he resolved to obtain those requisites 
first, which are most essential to the greatest practical 
utility. 

In his knowledo-e of lano;uao;es he excelled most 
men of his age. He had studied the English tongue 
with great closeness of investigation and soundness 
of reflection ; he understood it well in theory and in 
practice; his knowledge of its principles was both 
grammatical and philosophical. Although he did not 
shine in great excellence or elegance of composition, 
he was admirably qualified to illustrate and to teach 
the important practical parts of the English language. 
In the Hebrew tongue his proficiency was sufficient 
to enable him, to refer with ease and accuracy, to the 
original language of the Bible, for a solution of any 
doubts that existed respecting the correctness of our 
translation, and with facility to communicate the ele- 
ments of it to learners. But in the Greek and Latin, 
his eminence and superiority were more decided and 
acknowledged. To a careful and finished education, 
in classical science, had been added the accumulating 
21 



242 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

improvements, of more than twenty years experience 
and actual service in the business of teaching. 

Dr. Finley possessed an extraordinary capacity for 
business. He was more admired, however, for his 
deliberation, comprehensiveness and accuracy, than 
for his quickness of conception, or rapidity of execu- 
tion. He could embrace and pursue, with ease and 
efficacy, different kinds of business at the same time. 
All his transactions were accomplished with great 
facility, without bustle, and apparently almost without 
effort. Patience and perseverance, judicious enter- 
prise and zealous public spirit, were prominent traits 
in his character. The village and the country around 
him, felt happily the influence of his industry and 
skill in agriculture and in various other species of 
public improvement. With his judicious economy, 
was combined a high spirit of liberality. His benefi- 
cence extended to the poor and unfortunate — to in- 
fant congregations and rising churches — to poor and 
pious young men, preparing for the sacred office — to 
the cause of missions* in general — and to various 

■^ The following statement, on this subject; has been recently 
presented to the writer by a highly respectable minister of the 
gospel, who received the communication, in confidence, from Dr. 
Finley, a short time before his removal to the South : 

They were returning together from a meeting of the presbytery, 
to which both belonged. A convei-sation on the subject of mis- 
sions took place. Dr. Finley observed to his friend, that he thought 
the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church had not engaged 
in the business of missions, so extensively and zealously as they 
ought, and especially that they had been very remiss in paying so 
little attention to the subject oi foreign missions. After making 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 243 

public charitable institutions. His bounty, bestowed 
at different times, on the interests of science and 
religion, connected with the literary and theological 
establishments at Princeton, was unusually large, 
almost beyond his means ; and of his liberality of 
feeling and intention, towards the colonization so- 
ciety, we are furnished with an honorable testimony, 
in the letter from my correspondent at "Washington. 
His attendance on the judicatories of the church was 
punctual and faithful. In most of the important 
transactions of the church, he bore a conspicuous 
part. Modest and unassuming, more ready to hear 
than to sioeah, he seldom engaged deeply in public 
debates. There were occasions, however, on which 
his zeal predominated over his diffidence, and forced 
him into discussion. At these times, he displayed, 
both in appearance and address, his characteristic 
plainness, dignity and power. 

On the whole. Dr. Finley's rise and eminence in 
his profession, must be ascribed to the joint influence 
of his own talents and exertions, and to the benignant 
care and assistance of Divine Providence. He had 

some general remarks in relation to these objects, Dr. Finley pro- 
ceeded to say, that he had made up his mind to offer himself in a 
short time to the General Assembly as a missionary to go to the 
East, to be employed under their direction and that he intended to 
present them with about $500, to lay the foundation of a fund for 
the purpose of prosecuting and promoting this object. Circum- 
stances, recently ascertained, create a belief, that the particular 
place of missionary labors intended, was the contemplated colony 
of free blacks, to be formed on the coast of Africa, and eventually 
other destitute parts of that great continent. 



244 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

no family influence to bring liim forward and recom- 
mend him to public regard ; no powerful and devoted 
friends, to patronize and promote him; no patri- 
monial fortune nor parental laurels, on which to 
repose. The native activity and vigor of his mind 
were extraordinary, and the ardent impulses of his 
soul to be good and to do good, stimulated his powers, 
prescribed his course, and conducted him to true 
greatness and true glory. 

" Vitiis nemo sine nascitur: optimus ille est, 

Qui minimis urgetur." Hor. 



This letter of Dr. Studdiford was received late, and 
is inserted at the close of the Biography, a powerful 
testimony, to strengthen the preceding narrative. 

^^Lambertvinc,YchrnVLTy 22, 1856. 
« Rev. J. Y. Brown, 

Ml/ Bear Sir : — I avail myself of the first leisure 
time I have found since the receipt of your letter to 
return an answer. You ask for some reminiscences of 
my old preceptor, the Rev. Dr. Finley. I was a 
small boy when I entered his school, but have still 
quite a distinct remembrance of his person, and his 
methods of instruction and discipline. As a classical 
teacher he was remarkable for the methods he took to 
secure an accurate knowledge of the laws and struc- 



BIOGllAPUY OF DR. FINLEY. 245 

ture of the learned languages. Until his pupils had 
made considerable proficiency in gaining this know- 
ledge, he spent most of the time of each recitation in 
the exercise of parsing. The derivation and compo- 
sition of words, their forms and relations, received 
full attention. Together with the grammar, that 
excellent old book, Mair's Introduction, was con- 
stantly employed, and English sentences were given 
out to be turned into Latin. In teaching Greek, he 
paid very particular attention to the formation of the 
different parts of the verb. He could succeed beyond 
most teachers in making his pupils interested in what 
they were studying. It was scarcely possible for a 
boy of ordinary abilities to be under his tuition for 
any length of time, without gaining a respectable 
facility in applying the rules of his grammar. 

His school, while I was in it, numbered from thirty 
to forty-five pupils. About one-fourth of this num- 
ber boarded in his own family ; the rest in other 
respectable families in the neighborhood. These 
latter, though not so immediately under his own eye 
when out of school, yet felt the awe of his authority 
resting on them as a restraint on their vicious pro- 
pensities. The common impression seemed to be that 
he possessed a kind of mysterious ubiquity, so that if 
mischief w"as done anywhere in the neighborhood, it 
could not escape his detection. 

He spent the most of each forenoon in the school- 
room, hearing the different classes in turn. The rest 
of the time we were left with his usher, who followed 
out his rules to the letter. 

21* 



246 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

His discipline has generally been regarded as rigid 
and severe. And yet I never knew a teacher, -who 
would speak more cheeringly to the good and studious, 
or who showed more pleasure in hearing a well pre- 
pared recitation. The boy who had mastered his 
prescribed task deemed it a privilege to recite to him. 
To the bad and the incorrigibly idle he was sometimes 
severe. But there was no caprice or partiality in the 
punishment he inflicted. The predominant feeling of 
his pupils towards him was, no doubt, one of reverence 
approaching to awe ; and yet we all felt that he had 
the sincerest love for us. I forget to state that as an 
excitement to study he made a very free, but, I think 
not improper use of the principle of emulation. I 
I have not yet mentioned what, I consider the most 
interesting feature of his school, the attention he 
paid to our religious instruction. Originally, I believe, 
his pupils were in the practice of reciting their pre- 
scribed tasks in the catechism and scriptures on 
Saturday or Monday morning, each w^eek. But about 
the time of my entering the school he adopted the 
plan of collecting us in the school-room for that pur- 
pose, on Sabbath afternoons. Each scholar was 
required to be present. Each one had a lesson pre- 
viously assigned which he was required to recite. 
The smaller boys studied the shorter Catechism, first 
without and then with scripture proofs. The more 
advanced scholars recited on the Bible. This reci- 
tation was made after the examinations on the Cate- 
chism were concluded, so that the whole school had 
an opportunity of hearing it, with his questions, ex- 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 247 

planations, and remarks on the passage. Thus, before 
that Sunday-schools were yet known in our region, 
we had one and that of the best kind. The mectinj^s 
were opened and closed with prayer, and usually 
with sinorino;. 

On these occasions our venerated instructor ap- 
peared in his happiest moods. The aspect of stern- 
ness which sometimes marked his visage in the school- 
room on other days had disappeared. A heavenly 
calm rested on his countenance, which indicated com- 
munion with a higher region. When the usual reci- 
tations were over he frequently concluded with an 
address to the whole school. This wms always im- 
pressive. I never knew a man, that could bring divine 
truth home more forcibly, to the minds of youth. I 
have often wondered where the secret of his great 
power lay. He did not employ the usual methods 
for interesting children, relating anecdotes and draw- 
ing pictures to please the fancy. He possessed no 
uncommon power of illustration ; and yet he could 
make the most heedless feel that the things of eter- 
nity were solemn realities. At different times I have 
seen a whole school of forty boys or more retire from 
these services with a solemn stillness such as we 
sometimes witness in our churches during seasons of 
revival. No doubt the holy earnestness of his own 
spirit w^as one main reason of his success in impress- 
ing others. While he spoke his face shone w^ith a 
glow of hallowed emotion, and he seemed like one 
lookincr into the unseen world. There is fjood reason 
to believe that at these Sabbath afternoon meetings 



248 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

impressions were produced on many youthful minds, 
that will be remembered with lively gratitude to God 
through eternity. 

As a preacher he certainly possessed uncommon 
power to move an audience. Even children listened 
with interest to his pulpit performances. I can dis- 
tinctly remember the impressions produced by his 
preaching on my ovfn mind, when a boy of ten or 
eleven years of age. And I particularly recollect 
two discourses which at that time I heard from him ; 
one on the fall of man, and the other an evening 
lecture on the woe pronounced by Christ on the cities 
that believed not on him. 

I am rejoiced, my dear sir, that you propose pub- 
lishing a revised edition of your biography of this 
truly excellent man. You will perform an important 
service to the cause of Christ in holding up his exam- 
ple and his life before our churches, our ministers, 
and candidates for the ministry. I will be happy to 
do all I can in promoting the circulation of the work 
in this region. 

Yours, with much esteem and respect, 

P. 0. Studdiford. 



CHAPTER XII. 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SlAVE TrADE — EaRLY CONNECTION OF THE 

English and other nations with the traffic — Sierra Leone 
— West Indian experiments of the British to apprentice 
Slaves, 1833 — To Emancipate, 1838 — Failure — Their course 
towards colonization — Free labor and slate labor con- 
trasted — British connection with them — relations of the 
United States with the same — Great importance of Africa 
to England, and to the United States, as a vast field for 
Free Labor — Notices of Liberia — Her progress — Her con- 
nection with us — Her necessities — Her difficulties — The 
interest of the United States to extend a prompt and vigor- 
ous helping hand to Liberia, to the work of colonization, 
and missions. 

In the year 1434, Pope Martin V. granted to an 
exploring expedition of Portuguese, along the western 
coast of Africa, in pursuit of a passage to India, a 
right to all the land they might discover, and an 
indulgence to all the souls who might perish in the 
enterprise. An officer of the company, Anthony 
Gonzales, received at the mouth of the Rio del Oro 
in 1442, ten negroes, in exchange for Moorish cap- 
tives he had on board. This, it is believed, was the 
first cargo of this kind ever transported along the 
coast of Africa. Gonzales disposed of his Africans 
to great profit, and by the report of it at his return 
to Lisbon, he stirred up an eager desire among his 
countrymen to participate in the trade ; which soon 
resulted in their preparing and commissioning about 



250 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

thirty sJtijJs to engage in that novel kind of business. 
Avarice speedily prompted successive adventurers to 
follow up this small beginning, and to augment its 
extent and power, till the Government of Portugal — 
even the throne, became deeply interested in its suc- 
cess. 

About the year 1493, the* Spaniards became in- 
volved in a war with the Indians of St. Domingo. 
After a long and unsuccessful resistance by the per- 
secuted and suffering Indian tribes, and the failure of 
some sympathizing companies in their attempts to 
succor and relieve those miserable victims of oppres- 
sion and exterminating violence, Las Cases, an enter- 
prising Spaniard, distinguished in the sanguinary 
movements and conflicts of these times, embarked in 
their favor; but soon finding all his efforts in their 
behalf unavailing, and cherishing a desire of insti- 
tuting some bold and successful measure in America, 
then recently discovered, to enrich the crown of 
Spain and gratify his own ambition and cupidity, he 
purchased from the Portuguese settlements on the 
African coast, a number of negroes, to be employed 
in America instead of the native Indian population ; 
their labor being found incomparably more productive 
and valuable than that »of the natives. Ferdinand, 
the King of Spain, about 1511 encouraged the intro- 
duction of African slaves into his American domi- 
nions in great numbers. 

Notwithstanding the opposition of Cardinal Xim- 
ines, Regent after the death of Ferdinand, Charles 
the V. on his accession and arrival in Spain, sane- 



BIOGRAPHY OF Dll. FINLEY. 251 

tioned the measures and requests of Las Cases In 
connection with some Flemish favorites, as a mono- 
poly ; who sold their right to some Genoese merchants 
A. D. 1518, and thus gave form and continuance to 
the inhuman traffic in slaves, between Africa and 
America. Through this agency, this barbarous sys- 
tem productive of such unutterable woes to the 
African tribes near the coast, was at first commenced. 

The monopoly held by the Genoese in this shocking 
branch of commerce, was purchased successively by 
several European nations. The French obtained it 
from the original proprietor, and used it till it pro- 
duced for them §204,000,000. In 1713, the British 
nation became possessed of it, and employed it suc- 
cessfully for thirty years. But Spain, impatient to 
recover this immensely profitable trade, bought out in 
1739, the unexpired four years of the British term, 
at the price of §500,000. 

The Dutch soon began to participate in this nefa- 
rious traffic. About 1620, one of her vessels with 
the first cargo of flesh and blood, sailed up the James 
River in Virginia, and sold it there. The British 
nation soon gained an influence in this trade, and 
discovered in it as they supposed, such interest and 
policy as induced them to pursue it with so much zeal 
and activity, as to overcome the opposition made 
by the colonists. Their motives were gradually dis- 
closed, and always appeared mixed with selfishness 
and avarice. 

In 1777, the Earl of Dartmouth assigned as a 
reason for forcing slaves upon the Colonies, the belief 



252 BIOGRArilY OF DR. FINLEY. 

that, "negroes cannot become republicans; they will 
be a power in our hands to restrain the unruly colo- 
nists." In 1820, the Congress of the United States, 
in pursuance of a memorial from the American Colo- 
nization Society, passed an Act, declaring the slave 
trade to be Piraey. In Great Britain, many years 
preceding, a measure prohibiting the trade in their 
West Indian Colonies, had been adopted, to take 
efiect in 1808. But the declaration that it was piracy 
never passed in Parliament till 1824. England, 
France and the United States and other Christian 
nations united in this decisive and important decree. 

Thus, as far as human foresight could penetrate 
and human authority determine, the most nefarious 
of earthy trafficks appeared to have received its death 
warrant. This grand scourge of humanity being 
abolished in human view, and this reproach, so long 
resting upon the Christian name, removed, the phi- 
lanthropists of the world, and all the friends of suf- 
fering and bleeding humanity experienced at the 
announcement a thrilling satisfaction; their hopes 
seemed triumphant, and their joy was unbounded. 
A devout and fervent te deum went up to the mercy 
seat from every holy altar, and every humane fireside 
throughout Christendom. 

But it Avas soon discovered that an egregious over- 
sight had been committed in the progress of these 
measures to suppress the slave trade. Great Britain 
and those concurring with her in these steps, had 
nec'lected to secure the co-operation of Spain and 
Po°tuo-al to annihilate the traffick. A brief summary 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 253 

of facts -which occurred very soon in connection with 
the above transactions, will show that the check im- 
posed upon that trade was after all partial and tem- 
porary; just sufficient to exhibit the enormities which 
folloAved in more glaring and horrible colors. The 
history of the West Indies shows, that British capi- 
talists in their own vessels, were ascertained to have 
evaded all restrictions, and braved all hazards, in 
carrying an average of 20,000 victims annually from 
Africa to the Islands, continuously from 1680 to 
1T86. 

Six years later. Fox and Pitt, as sagacious as any 
men then living, estimated the numbers yearly stolen 
away from Africa at 80,000. Parlimentary Records 
prove, that this amount was augmented to 85,000 
from 1798 to 1810. From 1810 to 1815, the 
aggregate amount was swelled to 93,000, and the 
loss by suffocation over sea, for these ten years, was 
estimated at 15 per centum. From 1815 to 1820 the 
transportation is stated at 106,000, subject to a 
mortality of 25 per centum. 

. But as this traffic was maintained in violation of all 
law, these estimates of course, are utterly vague, and 
must come short of the truth, there being no standard 
by which to test their accuracy. The exhibition of 
Sir Thomas F. Buxton, in 1840, after long continued 
and profound research, placed the annual aggregate 
of this destestable trade, at 500,000. In this esti- 
mate, he embraced the desolations of the intestine 
wars among the native tribes, to secure the victims 
for sale ; the destruction occasioned by the slave trade ; 
22 



254 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

the competitions and artifices of those engaged in the 
trafiic, to obtain their miserable merchandise most 
advantageously, from the market, and the loss by 
death in the middle passage, and after landing, in 
acclimation ; all of which united, would reduce the 
whole number of surviving victims of the trade, in the 
ratio of 50 per centum. The documents of Parlia- 
ment correspond with these statistics, and prove 
their general correctness. This outrage upon human- 
ity, was committed year after year, at the very time 
Great Britain, France, and the United States were 
maintaining a vigilant and active armed force along 
the African Coast, at an annual cost of millions, to 
suppress this iniquitous and inhuman traffic. 

Finding all that had been done in this noble cause, 
splendid as were the achievements, in a great degree 
useless, their African Civilization Society was formed, 
and furnished with instructions, motives and means, to 
attempt by a more wisely adapted policy, what they 
had failed to accomplish by physical force. Now, 
they were directed to institute agricultural compa- 
nies ; to procure lands from the native tribes, for cul- 
ture ; to introduce the civil arts and implements for 
tilling the soil ; industrial habits and all useful know- 
ledge. And, that they might accomplish these 
various objects, they were encouraged to send out 
ships ; open factories and workshops ; make treaties 
with the native tribes ; conciliate their confidence and 
kindness and impart instruction and establish com- 
merce. The object of all this was, to make wild and 
desolate Africa, a useful and productive appendage 
of Great Britain. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 255 

Mr. M' Queen, the English agent, who reports to us 
these phxns and projects, and who patriotically and loy- 
ally urged on the alleviating enterprise, soon writes 
upon its brilliant and cheering frontispiece, the repul- 
sive characters of disaster and defeat^ chiefly, through 
the blighting influence of the climate upon the white 
man's constitution. This was the last great eff'ort of 
the British nation, to redeem lost Africa. And during 
the last ten years, the victims of the slave trade 
have averaged about 60,000 per annum, with a loss 
of 25 per centum. 

During many of these latter years of England's 
abortive experiments and efi*orts, the Amer'ican Col- 
onization Society^ which sprang into being, A. D. 
1816, was earnestly engaged, developing its princi- 
ples and its aims ; making its large prospective surveys ; 
digesting its modes of action; forming a favorable 
public sentiment ; awakening kind sympathy ; open- 
ing resources ; refuting the cavils and calumnies of 
opposers ; ^nd thus preparing the way for a decided 
advance towards her avowed object. 

The open and determined conclusions, in regard to 
the best method of redeeming Africa, to which the 
acknowledged failure of the British effort had brought 
her statesmen and philanthropists, tended greatly to 
confirm the hopes and animate the exertions of the 
American Colonizationists, in prosecuting their noble 
cause. The two sentiments Avhich planted themselves 
most firmly and harmoniously in the breasts of 
Africa's best friends, were embodied in the following 
few words, viz. : "The best if not the only remedy, 



256 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

for the slave trade, is, colonizing the "Western Coast 
of Africa, as fast as possible, with civilized and moral 
colored men." And, to this policy, which has been 
the 2^rimum mobile of the Colonization Society, and the 
vade mecum of her sons, Great Britain, to the outward 
eye, has extended from her councils and actions, a very 
pleasing and consistent fostering sympathy ; thus 
acknowledging and ratifying their abandonment of 
that feature of their extension system, which control- 
led their unsuccessful attempt to make Africa a de- 
pendency or province of the British Kingdom. Still 
her statesmen, very patriotically, manifest a decided 
wish, and seem to pursue a wisely directed policy, to 
secure, to their nation, the early and increasing ad- 
vantages presented to the world by the colonization 
system. 

The policy and influence of Great Britain have not 
extinguished the slave trade, beyond the limits of her 
Sierra Leone colony. But the Colonization Society, 
have abolished it, for more than five hundred miles, 
along the coast. The English nation, in their efforts 
xoViQ^w^on physical force ; colonization, chiefly upon 
moral means and influences. In Liberia, the old 
New England rule prevails. Every man is required to 
patronise instruction ; to assist in procuring teachers ; 
and to send to school. The whole measure or sys- 
tem is based upon the assumption, that making the 
body of the citizens wise and virtuous is the best cor- 
rective of social and civil ills, and the introduction to 
corresponding moral and political advantages. While 
contending with the slave trade, on the ocean, is 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 257 

proved to be, in great measure vain, these indirect 
countervailing influences, at home, show clearly their 
adaptation and power by the success which attends 
them. If nothing else can secure a complete triumph, 
in exterminating this iniquitous and merciless trade, 
colonization, perscvcringly pursued, tvill accomplish it. 
Teach the wretched spoliated victims, at home, that 
the practice is demoniacal, suicidal, horrid ; and this 
awful crusade against humanity must cease, for want 
of nutriment. 

Though we rejoice in all the evidences afforded 
of British sympathy for American colonization plans, 
and though this sympathy is doubtless in many indi- 
vidual cases, the fruit of genuine philanthropy, yet 
we are constrained to fear that it is chiefly selfish — a 
part of their national economy — of their financiering 
system. They will favor it, therefore, as a nation, 
just so far and so long as it favors them. The lex 
talmiis, whether moral or political, if connected with 
national interest, is with them the rule of their wis- 
dom and mercy. They are calculating, probably, by 
their sound policy and mature craftiness to outwit 
and outmanage Young America in the work of reap- 
ing spoils, no matter who is the pioneer and laborer 
in opening the field and preparing the crop. This is a 
low position for a great and boastful nation to assume. 

In America all feeling and action in regard to this 
object is honest, pure, patriotic, benevolent. Christian. 
It has not a venal or mercenary feature. When fully 
consummated, if ever, we gain from it no direct ad- 
vantage, unless at this stage we change our national 



258 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY, 

policy. If any pecuniary benefits should accrue, 
they must be indirect, adventitious results, never 
courted. Traits of justice, even mercy, to injured 
parties may be detected in the scheme ; but it is pre- 
eminently a work of disinterested charity. Thus far, 
no power has moved a wheel in this divine machine 
but that of individual kindness, justice and liberality. 
What the nation will do, by its collected wisdom in 
Congress, is yet to be seen. "We desire no merely 
interested selfish favor, no agency which does not 
correspond with the pious, patriotic, philanthroiiic 
emotions and views which prompted the founders and 
animated the friends and promoters of this greatest 
of modern enterprises. 

In proportion as this society insinuates itself into 
the body of Africa, or penetrates beyond its present 
prescribed limits, benefits of various kinds and de- 
grees will manifest themselves. If we purchase or 
acquire lands from the head men or tribes in Africa, 
the population on the so acquired soil will be brought 
immediately under the influence of Liberian laws, 
liberties and kindred advantages of various kinds. 
All its benefits, pleasures and prospects are at once 
placed within the reach of this new accession ; and 
the noble system of Liberian rule begins to confer 
upon them its precious republican fruits. It must be 
understood that some apprenticeship, or period of 
preliminary experience in the novel circumstances of 
these natives of the wilderness, is necessary to secure 
to them full citizenship. About 150,000 are already 
admitted and enrolled; 200,000 more occupy such a 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 250 

position, by arrangement, that they are pledged to 
oppose the slave trade, to observe treaties, to main- 
tain peace among themselves, to court union and 
amalgamation with the colony as their Ultima Thule. 
Our very philanthropic English brethren do not care 
who takes the lead in this splendid career of kindness, 
if you will only give them the profit of it. Mr. Mc- 
Queen, who is deeply devoted to British interests, 
justly urges the importance of Tropical Africa to the 
British nation. She too, sees the value of this pos- 
session so clearly, that she appears willing to aid the 
Colonization Society in its efforts to bring Africa 
under a strong moral influence, to the practice of 
industrial pursuits and enterprises, habits and modes 
of civilized life ; all that she may widen the field of 
her commerce and the diffusion of her manufactures. 
To incline and even constrain Great Britain to such 
a policy, there exist strong incidental reasons. To 
illustrate the general principle involved, we remark, 
that the amount of tropical produce reported as re- 
ceived from their own principal possessions, is very 
far short of that received from foreign nations. 
Hence her interests, her necessities connected with 
her national administration, her success in sustaining 
this gigantic and costly fabric must depend upon her 
success in extending her commerce, and sending her 
vast accumulation of manufactured articles widely 
through those tropical latitudes which so greatly pre- 
ponderate in yielding the supplies of tropical fruits 
which slie needs, and which open so capacious a 
market for the sale of her own immensely profuse 



260 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 



goods. Hence the argument in favor of the object 
proposed is tAvo-fold, and both branches of it are very 
strong. To see their force, let us contrast the amount 
of a few articles of English tropical productions on 
her own colonial soil with that of a few others of like 
character from othei' countries. 



FROM BRITISH POSSESSIONS. 



«TLTC3r--^I».. 



West Indies, 
East Indies, 
Mauritius, 

Total, 



No. o/cwts. in 1S42. 

2,508,552 

940,452 

544,767 



3,993,771 



CZOli-VBZIiZ. 



West Indies, 
East Indies, 

Total, 



No. of lbs. in 1842. 

9,186,555 

18,206,448 



27,393,003 



Ctfl—FtiX. 



No of lbs in 1840. 

West Indies, 427,529 

East Indie.s, 77,015,917 

East Indies to China, 60,000,000 



Total, 



137,443,446 



FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



ssfti.vrv. 



Cuba, 
Brazil, 
Java, 
Louisiana, 

Total, 



No. ofcwts. in 1842. 

5,800,000 

2,400,000 

[1,105,757 

1,400,000 



10,705,757 



atstvj^szTs. 



Java, 
Brazil, 
Cuba, 
Venezuela, 

Total, 



No. of lbs. in 1842. 

134,842,715 

135,000,800 

33,589,325 

34,000,000 



337,432,840 



c:t>-i"TO>; . 



United States, 

Java, 

Brazil, 

Total, 



No. of lbs. in 1840. 

790,479,275 

165,504,800 

25,222,828 



981,206,903 



The above brief table shows the excess of England's 
receipts annually of foreign goods named, over the 
amount of her liome products^ viz : 



1. Excess of Sugar, cwts., 

2. Excess of Coffee, in lbs., 

3. Excess of Cotton, in lbs.. 



7,312,754 
310,039,837 
843,763,457 



This demonstrates the great importance of the tro- 
pical^ or slave labor territory to Great Britain. The 
comparative shortness of her tropical supplies from 
her oivn possessions, when discovered at honie^ pro- 
duced not only a great national shock, but so great 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 261 

an embarrassment among her statesmen and financiers, 
as to drive them to extraordinary efi*orts to increase 
the productiveness of her own IsLand possessions, and 
to diminish those of her rivals, as their first resort in 
this startling emergency. This result could be ac- 
complished only in tivo ivays, by multiplying laborers 
from abroad, or by making her home laborers more 
efiicient and productive, or by both. 

As they had already taken a position and made a 
declaration utterly hostile to the slave trade, that 
could not be made availing for them at this crisis. 
Their only refuge then, was to make the labor already 
in possession, more prolific. The subject of "West 
Indian emancipation had long been under discussion 
among British patriots and philanthropists. Its ad- 
vocates had argued that free labor was cheaper and 
more productive than slave labor; that free men 
would do twice as much work in any given time as a 
like number of slaves ; that the truth of this propo- 
sition when verified in action, would lead all other 
slave holding governments and states to emancipa- 
tion ; and, that thus slaves would be so much dimin- 
ished in value, that they would no more be an article 
of trade voraciously sought after ; and that the slave 
trade would in this manner be brought to an end. 
Impressions favorable to this theory, made upon the 
British nation, led to the apprenticeship Act of 1833, 
on the Islands, to decide the long mooted question, 
which was most productive and valuable, free or slave 
labor. An experience of about five years gave deci- 
sive evidence of failure, and coerced the British 



262 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

nation (in 1838) to the still more ruinous experiment 
of substituting total emancipation for pari^a?. 

A short period under this system, was sufficient to 
demonstrate that freedom, j^ersowaZ liberty, even when 
stimulated by high wages, will not secure the industry 
of a mass of ignorant, uncultivated men, but little 
raised above the savage state ; because they possessed 
no adequate intelligence, experience or adaptation 
any way, to such a change of condition. 

These British Acts of 1833 and 1838, among their 
West Indian slaves, presented to all the world, one 
great instructive fact on the subject of slavery; that 
before extremely ignorant, untrained and almost sav- 
age men can be made profitable free laborers, they 
must receive both mental and moral culture ; civiliza- 
tion to a considerable extent, of a Christian kind. 
The emancipated negroes of the English, proved 
indolent and reckless ; sank into a condition of most 
wretched poverty and debasement, not to say pauper- 
ism and incipient starvation, more excessive and hope- 
less than while in bondage. This continued with 
increasing aggravations till teachers and missionaries 
from Great Britain and the United States came 
among them, to introduce at least, partial reliefs from 
their distresses, by applying the seasonable and salu- 
tary, civil and moral corrections, which the owners of 
the slaves had entirely neglected prior to their libe- 
ration. Now what we particularly desire to remark 
in this place is, that those British experiments, when 
their results were unfolded, ought, effectually to have 
taught both British and American abolitionists, the 



BIOGRAPHY OP DR. FINLEY. 263 

absurdity and incfficacy of their foolish and incessant 
cry for immediate and universal emancipation. In 
reference to the British wing of this infatuated host, 
unless they had resolved, as Pitt said to Walpole, on 
another topic," to continue ignorant in spite of expe- 
rience," their own experiment ought not only to have 
condemned, but corrected their folly. And, at the 
same time, the exhibition among the British slaves in 
the West Indies, ought forcibly to teach American 
fanatics, what would be the consequence of carrying 
out their scheme of prompt, universal freedom in our 
slave districts, without previous and appropriate pre- 
paration. 

Although British capitalists suffered incalculably 
by their rash adventure, and many of them sunk to 
ruin, as its legitimate fruits ; yet humanity may 
rejoice; for these emancipated masses, under salutary 
advice, being furnished with suitable teachers and 
missionaries from England and elsewhere, to labor 
among them, to supply their manifold pressing wants, 
are rapidly rising in intelligence and respectability; 
advancing notwithstanding their first failure^ to such 
a state of improvement and capacity, as will prepare 
them for industrial and civil pursuits of all grades ; 
which will ultimately enable them to yield for the 
interest and glory of Great Britain, though she never 
looked to this end at first^ more luxuriant and golden 
crops than their period of slavery ever exhibited or 
promised. The failure of England to enlarge her 
resources in the West Indies, and the discovery that 
her share in the tropical fruits of the world from her 



264 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

own soil, was really so much smaller than her neces- 
sities, has made it for years, a particular object, a 
ruling passion, a cardinal point in her state policy to 
extend her interests in tropical latitudes. This brings 
her, in some measure into contact with colonization. 

To see the full force of the motives which now, 
more especially, influence England in her course, we 
must recollect, that at the introduction of her appren- 
ticeship and emancipation experiments, besides the 
losses, vexations, and embarrassments they produced 
in her financial operations, cost her to remunerate 
the planters for their slaves ($100,000,000) one hun- 
dred millions of dollars, and another like sum, 
$100,000,000 to keep under the slave trade, especially 
while her grand experiments, were in progress. Eng- 
land's sympathy has been directed particularly towards 
tropical Africa ; because it lies nearer to her, and is 
of more easy access, than any other tropical region. 
She enters into this redeeming policy, fully persuaded, 
from the lesson she received, in her West Indian ex- 
periment, that intelligence, general moral improve- 
ment, and acquaintance with the arts of life, must 
precede every effort to make mere children of nature, 
even in want and suffering, industrious, orderly and 
profitable citizens : and from the history of her African 
civilization society, she learnt the precautionary fact, 
that luhite men cannot be safely relied upon, to 
accomplish the work of Africa's improvement and 
moral elevation. 

It is evident that Africa must undergo a thorough 
course of discipline and training, preparatory to any 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 265 

important effort she may make to become a self-sus- 
taining nation, on liberal principles ; or to make her 
tributary, as a great multitude of laborers and factors, 
to the strength and prosperity of the English nation. 

One great cause of England's failure, in her eman- 
cipation experiments, in the West Indies, was the 
fact, at first not recognized, that the life of the 
laborer generally, or rather his period of labor, is 
short, and restricted, in that climate, to six or eight 
years. Hence a generation of laborers, very quickly 
pass away. This loss can be supplied, not by stimu- 
lating and coercing industry, but by resorting to 
Africa, for fresh supplies. Hence, it is manifest that 
West Indian, and much more, that Brazilian free- 
dom, encourages the slave trade. For without fresh 
importations, to replenish the wastes of death, the 
plantations must speedily cease to produce from the 
want of cultivators. It is therefore easy to perceive 
how and why, the British AYest Indian experiments, 
in 1833, and 1838, proved to be, not only abortive 
but injurious. But they have given valuable instruc- 
tions on this subject. 

The effect of the slave trade, in every view we can 
take of it is, also, in other respects, highly deleterious. 
By stealing and carrying away multitudes to foreign 
lands, the number of laborers is diminished, at home. 
By civilizing, instructing, and thus redeeming her from 
savage habits, the natives become contented, occupied, 
quiet, at home ; and thus they may and do become 
contributors, rather than burdens, on an extensive 
scale, to their own domestic comfort and independence 
23 



266 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

as well as to the wealth of other nations. On this 
pleasing supposition, every man becomes a producer ; 
he augments his efficiency. His depressed country, 
under such circumstances, begins to rise ; increases 
in power, and respectability, among the nations of 
the earth. 

Just in proportion as free labor increases, it fur- 
nishes the produce of free labor, supplies the demand 
for it, through the world — it forces the product of 
slave labor out of the market ; dispels it from hu- 
man tables ; excludes it from trade ; and so operates 
strongly against the slave trade and against slavery 
too. Tim process will exterminate the traffic, and 
no other, probably ever will. An attempt has 
been made, by the strongest nations on the globe, by 
diplomacy, by vigilance, by power, by fleets, by armies, 
and by combined legislation, to suppress this inhu- 
man traffic ; but they have only temporarily checked 
its inveteracy and circumscribed its boundaries ; they 
have modified its form, changed its locations and closed 
some of its channels. But they have really, in charac- 
ter, aggravated its enormity, by multiplying its phases, 
its aspects, its rallying points, its clandestine evasions 
and artifices ; while the execrable evil still lives. 

Now, civilize Africa, and you will effectually 
abolish that barbarous trade forever. You bless the 
world ; you elevate the human race ; you secure to 
that continent the great object of government, of 
political compacts and charters. You reach in great 
measure, the ultimate point aimed at by the God of 
truth and purity, justice and freedom. It results 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 207 

then that colonization is a vast effort, upon principles 
and by means, heretofore little thought of, to eman- 
cipate the human race, now in bondage. Africa is 
the great arena of strife and contention. If success 
in civilizing, cultivating, and fully redeeming Africa, 
be secured, on that continent, and the products of slave 
labor be excluded from the human market, that great 
quarter of the world ivill he free. The impression 
will be such among men, and the call for free labor 
and free production will become so loud and irresis- 
tible, that even Cuba and Brazil will be compelled to 
come into the system and embrace the grand universal 
reform, to seek wealth and honor, independence and 
happiness, character and influence among the nations, 
by establishing a common, a universal freedom. 

To secure the final and complete triumph of such a 
system, among the low, debased and wretched orders 
of our race, still in bondage to ignorance, to vice and 
despotic power ; and occupying still much of earth's 
finest surface, there must be mixed with the moving 
emancipating and refining influences, much of a re- 
ligious, sanctifying element ; a power of truth, and 
conscience, a sense of the divine presence and govern- 
ment, in connection with human law and state policy. 
These distinct classes of moving energies, should 
enter and progress simultaneously, j!?«ri j^assu. 
The influence of those motives which arc drawn from 
the invisible and eternal worlds, is essential, to make 
others effectual. This work is so great, that under 
circumstances most favorable, it will require time, 
and labor, patience and devotion, as well as faith 
and hope, to crown it with triumph. 



268 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

Some interesting facts, hitherto little regarded, 
though intimately connected with the preceding 
thoughts, ought now to be more fully presented and 
duly appreciated. 

The free labor field of production in tropical re- 
gions, fails incalculably to furnish those commodities 
which the tastes, necessities and appetites of the 
world demand ; and hence this supply is looked for to 
slave territory and slave labor. Now, it may be asked, 
who are the chief consumers of these slave labor pro- 
ducts from tropical climates ? The answer is obvious. 
England, France and the United States. These 
nations are the principal customers of the slave pro- 
ducers in the tropical latitudes. Hence, it follows, 
they are the great and prominent patrons of slavery 
and the slave trade. These nations who proclaim 
themselves as the distinguished leaders in emancipa- 
ting, civilizing, and Christianizing all who are in bond- 
age ; in executing a vast mission of philanthropy and 
mercy ; are in reality, practically combining their influ- 
ence and power to patronize and perpetuate slavery and 
the slave traffick. This is as true as it is astounding 
and deplorable. The governments above named, pre- 
eminent in wealth, in numbers, in power, in refine- 
ment, and in responsibility, cannot escape from their 
absurd, criminal and disgraceful position, but by em- 
ploying all the physical, political and moral power 
they possess, to convert slave nations^ slave factors of 
every grade, and slave producers, into civilized free- 
men ; so arranging, modifying, improving and reno- 
vating the character, condition and habits of slave 
population, slave countries, slave production, and of 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 269 

their relation to them all, that true liberty may 
redeem and sanctify the whole. Then freedom will 
be a spontaneous luxuriant growth of all climes, and 
produce fruit for the healing of the nations. No 
longer will it be said with sarcasm and reproach: 
Behold these nations, how contradictory and absurd 
their public course ! In the statute book the slave 
trade is a heinous crime, deserving death — Piracy ! 
But to fill their treasures, to gratify their appetites, 
to swell their commercial sails, they exhibit them- 
selves before the whole world as practical patrons and 
abettors of that very traffick, in all its strong posi- 
tions and countless ramifications ! 

Africa is the principal field now unoccupied and 
open to free labor, as a vast productive area, surpass- 
ing all others in attractiveness and in facility of 
acquisition. Her central situation, besides making 
her easy of access to almost all the world, will enable 
her more successfully to compete with all markets, in 
the exportation of her abounding tropical produc- 
tions as soon as brought under culture. The adapta- 
tion of her soil, as well as climate, to the cultivation 
of the principal staple articles of tropical regions, is 
now by examination and by twenty years of experi- 
ence, placed beyond doubt. Cofi'ee, pronounced equal 
to any in the world, is advantageously raised in 
Liberia, and its cultivation may be extended indefi- 
nitely into the interior. The plant lives and thrives 
for a score or more of years. Cotton of superior 
quality and value, grows successfully and yields two 
crops a season for many successive years. And sugar- 

23* 



270 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

cane in thriftiness and fertility, excels even our own 
Southern States. Native laborers are easily obtained 
and at a moderate rate. On this point it may be 
observed, that Africans are much more susceptible of 
instruction and prompt introduction to the arts of 
labor, industry and civil enterprise than East Indian 
natives. The pride and caste of Asia, create an 
almost insurmountable barrier there, to civilization 
and civil pursuits. But the native simplicity and 
comparative modesty of the African, and his sense of 
inferiority, make him docile, and easy to be moulded 
to any form or occupation. 

That African natives may be successfully employed 
in all kinds of business contemplated, is abundantly 
proved by experience. The productiveness, value and 
cheapness of this kind of labor are all established. 
Their capacity, their willingness, their skill, their in- 
dustry and perseverance have also been satisfactorily 
tested. But in all these particulars, improvement and 
increase may be reasonably expected ; as their civili- 
zation advances, and their knowledge, their experi- 
ence, their tastes, their pleasures, their ambition to 
excel, are all augmented. In proof of this it has been 
observed, that the exhibitions of the slave traders 
and others, upon the African coasts, awaken among 
the natives, speedily, a keen and anxious desire to 
resemble them in appearance, to adopt their manners 
and to imitate their style and fashion of dress. And 
to the natives of the African continent, the exhibi- 
tions of the Liberian colony are already a model full 
of attractive influence. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FIN LEY. 271 

From their location, and their relations also, it 
seems plain that Great Britain and the United States 
are more capable of exercising salutary influence 
over Africa, both physically and morally, than any 
other nations. It is now very soon to be decided, 
which of these shall take the lead, and perform most, 
in this splendid work of national enterprise and true 
philanthropy ; and reap from their distinct, individual 
action, the greater national emolument, and more 
signal honor. Both these nations are bound to pro- 
ceed in this work, so benevolent in itself, and so 
elevating to humanity, where it is shockingly sunk 
and degraded. Their former course, their frequent 
avowals, their public acts and partial movements, 
may be regarded as pledges, which they are now 
called upon to redeem. A competition cannot be 
avoided, but there need not, there must not be a colli- 
sion. For it is the mother and the child who are to 
divide the spoils ; the toil and sacrifice ; the aggran- 
dizement and glory of this great work. As Abra- 
ham said to Lot, "Let there be no strife between me 
and thee. If thou wilt take the left hand then I will 
go to the right." 

Having reached this crisis in our great enterprise, 
we take our position and send forth our cry and our 
appeal, to the constituted authorities of these United 
States, in behalf of the Liberian colony, and the vast 
pagan continent of Africa, for aid and direct co-ope- 
ration, in the prosecution of this magnificent work of 
kindness. Africa places herself at the disposal of 
the American States, imploring deliverance from her 



272 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

barbarism ; beseeching her magnanimously to remedy 
her degradation and wretchedness ; offering promptly 
and munificently, to repay the debt, in the produce 
of her hitherto neglected soil and degenerate sons ; 
cultivating the grand foster parent of Liberia, to 
assist that affiliated Republic in accomplishing her 
plans of wisdom and mercy, designed, in her infancy 
and weakness, but found in execution, to be too vast 
and weighty a work for her years and resources. 
Individuals, and associations, moved by a generous 
impulse of compassion, having so far penetrated this 
wide expanse of desolation and woe, that they find 
their means and energies inadequate to realize the 
scheme of mercy ; they now stretch forth their hands 
and raise their supplication, for aid, to their beloved 
countrymen, who have hitherto stood at a distance 
from this important enterprise, and ask for moral 
force, as well as physical power, believing, that with- 
out both combined, success will be difficult and may 
be distant. 

These last twenty years or more employed by Great 
Britain in attempts to advance her financial affairs, 
and to correct her former mistakes ; lapped upon the 
first score of the American Colonization Society ; 
the former seeking escapes from recent disappoint- 
ments and disasters, and anxiously exerting her 
utmost skill, to secure extension and aggrandizement 
of Empire ; and the latter surveying past troubles, 
present griefs, and threatened catastrophies at home, 
they seemed to meet, upon a middle ground, or com- 
mon platform, in apparent harmony and unity of 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY- 273 

desioTi. At the commencement and through the pro- 
gress of this period, England made very slow progress 
in attempting to acquire the possession and control 
of tropical territory, in Africa. Other nations had 
preceded her, in occupying the greater part of the 
continent. France had stationed herself near the 
mouth of the Senegal, on the Gaboon ; and mouth of 
the Ni^er, at Massuah, on the western coast of the 
Red Sea ; at the mouth of the Jub, (Joob) and on the 
banks of the Johanna, near the northern outlet of the 
Mozambique channel ; in Southern Aly^nnia and on 
the White Nile. 

Spain and Portugal observing these movements, to 
supplant them, at various points, with a jealousy and 
suspicion adapted to their character, instituted more 
vio-orous measures, to recover and extend their influ- 
ence. All eastern and northern Africa, already oc- 
cupied, by independent and invidious sovereignties, 
combined, to resist any attempt of the English, to 
encroach upon their limits. Southern Africa, though 
to a great extent, in possession of the British nation, 
was found to be not Avell adapted to tropical produc- 
tions. The only soil available for her purpose, was 
located between the mouth of the Niger, and the 
coast of Liberia. Between these points, were situa- 
ted the large and populous nations of Dahomey and 
Ashantee, both heavily stocked with slaves, and 
deeply engaged in the slave trade. Hence the tropi- 
cal field, open to British enterprise, was, necessarily, 
very limited. 

By their mistaken policy, commercial transactions 



274 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

at Sierra Leone, had been placed originally, almost 
entirely, in the hands of white men, and of course, 
the colored population, were out of the way of experi- 
ment and improvement, in practical business. On 
the contrary, in Liberia, the colored people had been 
put forward, in every thing, because they were in- 
tended from the beginning to be supreme owners and 
sole occupants. Consequently, industry and active 
business habits, were early, immediately formed among 
them. Fortunes, by not a few, were speedily ac- 
quired in trade, successful enterprises was a striking, 
not uncommon feature ; the surrounding country 
witnessed the fact and felt the cheering influence of 
this success, in their neighboring- towns. Hence the 
tropical cultivation by men of da^'h sJcin hut free 
spirit became popular, prevalent, attractive. Their 
tropical fruits have already entered many markets 
and cheered many climes. Now, nothing is required 
to make Africa, redeemed from her darkness and de- 
basement, a land of peculiar and splendid produc- 
tiveness, but capital and labor, money and men, in a 
form, to be employed and applied, as their exigen- 
cies demand. Frosts never nip her buds or diminish 
her crops. They possess fine natural soil, and 
showers enough in all seasons, to make it luxuriantly 
fertile. 

Indeed, beyond all controversy, Africa constitutes 
for purposes here contemplated, the most valuable 
and inviting tropical field unoccupied, upon our 
globe: in extent, in location, in promise, far surpass- 
ing the Brazils. In addition to the decisive evidence 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 275 

of England's shortness of tropical produce, afforded 
by the statistical results before us, a glance of the 
eye over the geographical surface of the tropical 
world, will show that they are gathering from a nar- 
row and precarious field. 

At the same time, this view of the great and in- 
creasing demand for free tropical products and suit- 
able free tropical laborers^ beyond the present supply, 
even in the European market, should operate upon 
intelligent Africans in the United States, and in all 
slave holding countries, as a strong impressive motive 
to induce them to hasten to Africa, to realise the 
certain pecuniary, as well as moral and political ad- 
vantages, now opening in full and wide and free 
expansion there, to free labor and to free enterprising 
and industrious citizens, in the land of their fathers. 
There they may locate themselves, their families and 
their posterity, on a free, salubrious and prolific soil, 
to be enriched by their own industry, their own crops 
of delicate and luxuriant fruits, springing almost 
spontaneously from the bosom of the earth. The 
markets of Europe and of the United States, having 
command of no tropical soil, will gladly expand to 
receive the productions of Liberian industry and 
enterprise, and repay the debt in rich returns of all 
that art and liberality can bestow. Here will speed- 
ily spring up a wide spreading commerce, full of gain 
and honor, progressive and countless benefits to the 
newly opened country and established republics of 
freemen on the African continent. If there exist, 
then, in the bosoms of our African people, any true 



276 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

sympathy for their own race and color, any tender 
concern for those who have continued at home, but 
are involved in darkness, poverty and gloom, any 
ambition or desire to secure personal and national 
independence and glory, here is the field in which to 
realise these pearls beyond value, "without money 
and without price." 

The preceding views lead us to the conclusion, 
that Great Britain's apparent sympathy with young 
Liberia ought not to surprise us. We have no cause 
to wonder that she should so cordially and respect- 
fully receive Governor Roberts, though a descendant 
of slaves, whom they or their fathers had long since 
sold into Virginian bondage; when he comes the 
representative of a free colored republic, soliciting 
equality among the nations of the earth ! England 
was long ambitious — insatiably grasping for foreign 
dominion. She proportioned in imagination, to suc- 
cess in this work, her calculations, her hopes of future 
greatness and glory. Experiments and results, both 
near home, and far distant, have taught her, and 
ousht to teach other nations, that coloxiies or new 
States, are rarely national benefits ; that the cost and 
trouble of their acquisition, protection, maintenance 
and final establishment, often, very generally, surpass 
the amount of the tribute they pay, in any shape. 
The British have admitted, even boasted, that after 
they lost America by the Revolutionary war, they 
derived more profit from her, and swelled their trea- 
sury more from their spoils as an independent nation, 
than they ever had in her colonial state. The States 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. flNLEY. 277 

became a vast market for her manufactures and gen- 
eral commerce. The area opened here for her trade, 
and for the productions of her then already numerous 
workshops, presented in this emancipated colony, 
grew rapidly, and proved to the mother country a 
mine of wealth. The States exhausted by war, were 
naked and in need of all things; at the same time 
destitute of skill and experience for many years, in 
the business of providing for their pressing wants. 

Therefore, with the instruction Great Britain has 
received from experience, she may justly be con- 
sidered in a great measure indifferent as to the attain- 
ment of tropical territory, even in Africa. But she 
watches with extreme vigilance and solicitude, every 
opening to secure to herself the profits and commer- 
cial rewards due to other adventurers and more right- 
ful claimants of these fiscal advantages. It is now 
to be tried and decided, whether these American 
States, with all their pretended enterprise, their 
boasted energy, ambition and desire of distinction in 
the scale of nations, will stand idly hy and see this 
immense field for commerce, speculation, and ulti- 
mately transcendent gain, entered upon by an invidi- 
ous foe and rival — occupied, monopolized by stran- 
gers ; seizing upon the fruits of our labor and enter- 
prise; carrying off the splendid and delicious spoils, 
to which we are pre-eminently entitled. 

Impelled by the most impressive interests and 

arguments, to secure if possible, this internal trade, 

with or without the territory now opening in Africa, 

England will exercise all her sagacity; employ the 

24 



278 BIOGRAPHY OF DR FINLEY. 

fruits of her large experience and wise policy ac- 
quired and manifested in other climes and in other 
days, to accomplish her darling project, to enjoy the 
almost exclusive benefit of this almost boundless 
market for her manufacturers and trade. She will 
not be easily repelled or excluded from a sphere so 
full of splendid attractions to her national eye. It 
will be no easy matter to outwit or outmanage her in 
this interesting competition ; a competition not for a 
small, temporary advantage, but a contest almost for 
her very existence ; a struggle for pre-eminence in a 
boundless field of enterprise and emolument, upon the 
result of which, in good measure, the prosperity and 
glory of the British crown may depend. To cover 
her ambition and artifice, she may take refuge under 
the plea of great zeal for the promotion of civiliza- 
tion; of crippling and forever stopping the slave 
trade ; of advancing the noble cause of science, reli- 
gion and missions ; but remember ! her main object 
will be to sell hats and shoes^ muslins and prints, 
axes and hoes, &c ; all the variety of goods produced 
in Glasgow and Manchester, in Leeds and Sheffield, to 
supply the wants of the hundreds of millions of naked 
and needy suiferers and suppliants of Africa's dark 
and gloomy clime ; and to take home in return, all her 
various delicious fruits and useful products, her min- 
eral wealth and various productions of her opening 
mines and growing skill. Merchandise, manufactures, 
English goods, in every conceivable form and most 
profuse abundance, will be all the proclamation and 
exhibition at every fresh British arrival on the 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 279 

African coast. Bibles, Testaments, Sunday-school 
books, brief sacred and pious biographies, &c. &c., 
are easily boxed and carried, and would be given at 
home but they yield so little profit in the market, that 
in the cargo, they will be like the small dust of the 
balance; and this will not fill merchants' pockets nor 
foot British bills. 

Yet though not conveyed there as articles of com- 
merce, many of these messengers of good are sent to 
that country by benevolent associations in England, 
for which we cheerfully render them all due praise. 
We do not however repudiate the idea of self interest 
as a subordinate motive to excite to benevolent action, 
and we are willing to avail ourselves of it in the 
present instance to promote the noble cause of African 
colonization ; although freedom and philanthropy are 
inseparably connected, the same genius presides over 
both, the same pulse animates them, and the same ob- 
ject engrosses them. Colonization has never been a 
national enterprise, although the parent society bears 
the American name. This great institution has so 
far succeeded, as to resolve the great problem, even 
among emancipated slaves, whether a republic is 
capable of self government. Perhaps no exhibition 
of purer popular morality, political loyalty and good 
social order, than exists in Liberia, can be found 
among men. 

But freedom and philanthropy apart, the commer- 
cial interests of England and the United States, fur- 
nish a strong motive for extending a fostering hand 
to the colony of Liberia — a motive strongly felt and 



280 BIOGRAPHY or DR. FINLEY. 

vigorously acted on by Great Britain, and whose 
example may well stimulate us to greater zeal and 
activity in this important object. Manufactures in 
Great Britain's account, are of the greatest possible 
importance. Out of this class of her property and 
business grows her gigantic commerce, whitening 
every sea. This mans her navy, pays her taxes, sus- 
tains her armies and wars, supports her government, 
foots her national bills, in every department, main- 
tains her aristocracy, her royal family, her Parlia- 
ment and Commons. It feeds and clothes the nation, 
and upon it the crown reposes. Their jewels and 
their diamonds, if not fabricated there, are paid for 
from their looms and anvils, to decorate and garnish 
their pride and profligacy. 

Hence it is, that England has gulled and bribed 
and driven and wheedled almost all other nations, 
early and late, far and near, to minister to her work- 
shops, and often starving working men; and the 
dominant party in these United States have suffered 
themselves, as tame and easy dupes, to be drawn into 
this British vortex; to present themselves before the 
world in the humiliating act of catering to British 
splendor and prodigality ; renouncing her own high, 
honorable, independent policy to pay court and con- 
tribute millions annually to Victoria, the soi disant 
royal mistress of the world. 

But this immense tribute, augmented as it is, by 
the gold of California, and the vast surplus agricul- 
tural products of our wide spread prolific country, 
increased annually by our 800,000,000 lbs. of cotton. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 281 

will not be sufficient to discharge the American debt 
to England, or to meet her unbounded exigencies. 
Her cry still is give^ give! She must gather her 
spoils from other lands, reap her harvests as well as 
laurels, in milder climes; and she has marked out 
tropical Africa as a favorite object of her commercial 
prowess and power. And as a first step in this wise 
and lucrative career, England has already arranged 
a well adjusted treaty of commerce and amity with 
Liberia ; and has thus placed herself in the front and 
most enviable rank among the friends and benefactors 
of our young Liberian Republic. 

To open this great market for her goods, is now a 
grand financial desideratum of that nation. To ac- 
complish this, you may expect her to make it appa- 
rently and indirectly, her interest to assist Liberia in 
penetrating the interior of Africa, with enlightening 
and redeeming influences. Till the colonization 
scheme burst upon her view, the down trodden my- 
riads of Africa had implored relief in vain. Now 
the gloom of past ages begins to recede. Divine 
Providence is overruling this heaven born enterprise 
of civilization and philanthropy, to raise up, directly 
and indirectly, from various quarters, seasonable and 
efficient auxiliaries ; so that her prospect is brighten- 
ing every hour. 

But in addition, before quitting this subject, we 
ought to designate as specially deserving attention, 
the authentic and impressive fact, that a vast body of 
iron ore has recently been discovered in Liberia, 
located in the New Jersey colony, and extending over 



282 BIOGRAPHY OP DR. FINLEY. 

many thousands of acres, easy of access, and so pure 
that it is found to be malleable and ductile without 
smelting ; susceptible of conversion even by rude and 
unskilful hands, into a great variety of instruments 
and utensils, both for utility and ornament, adapted 
to the use and convenience of that country. 

In this article alone, a commerce may be com- 
menced and carried on, both foreign and domestic, of 
immense value and importance. The conjecture is 
warranted by many judicious explorations already 
made, that various other deposits will be found in 
that region, of different species, enriching the soil 
and country, and providing for the future wants and 
convenience of the population, placing that country 
in internal resources and prospects, upon a level with 
many of the most favored parts of the globe. How 
exceedingly important then, is it, that the United 
States should immediately extend to that young and 
rising Republic, prompt and efficient aid, in the effort 
now demanded, to explore her mineral wealth, and 
open up her internal resources of every species, thus 
to prepare the way for her future aggrandizement 
and glory. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Sketch of Rev. James Caldwell, father of Mrs. Finley. 

Mr. Caldwell was ordained to the work of the 
holy ministry, in the latter part of the year 1761 ; 
and, he was at the same time, installed pastor of the 
Pirst Presbyterian Congregation in Elizabethtown, 
New Jersey. His intellectual powers, which were of 
a superior order, his education which united religious 
strictness with literary culture, and his native eleva- 
tion of mind combined their influence to create in him 
early, a strong tendency to a virtuous, honorable and 
useful course of action. It pleased the Giver of 
every good gift, early to foster and sanctify these en- 
dowments, and to crown them with distinguished 
honor by directing them into the channel of his OTvn 
sacred service, in the ministry of the gospel. The 
qualifications with which Mr. Caldwell entered on 
this high vocation, were such as to adorn the 
sacred office, to promote the interests of the church, 
and to benefit the souls of men. Of a sprightly 
temper, comely person, — graceful and engaging 
address — his voice clear and melodious — his mind 
well improved by theological science, polite lit- 
erature, and cultivated society — his piety highly 
evangelical, active and fervent — he was one of the 



284 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

most pleasing, eminent, and useful preachers of his 
day. He was much beloved by the people of his con- 
gregation, and his memory is still dear to a number of 
them who are now living. He was zealous, laborious 
and faithful in discharging the duties of his sacred 
trust. He delighted in visiting the people of his 
charge, and was accustomed to carry warm, practical 
piety with him into the private apartment and the 
social circle. In the small domestic assembly and in 
the ordinary intercourse of friendship, as well as in 
the congregation of God's people, he exhibited pecu- 
liar charms. Societies, and small meetings^ for prayer 
were his delight. Accordingly, stated and occasional 
assemblies for these purposes were numerous in his 
congregation. His ministry was pre-eminently pros- 
pered by the great Head of the church in the year of 
our Lord 1772. A considerable effusion of the divine 
Spirit was then experienced in his congregation ; and 
many were added to the church, some of whom are 
yet living witnesses, that this was truly a work of 
God. 

Mr. Caldwell's character soon became extensively 
known and highly appreciated, in the church. His 
superior capacity for extemporaneous speaking, his 
animated, impressive, and captivating eloquence in 
the pulpit, and his fervent piety, rendered him un- 
commonly interesting to every audience, and excited 
for him, high esteem, both at home and abroad. The 
character of his mind, and the nature of his improve- 
ments, qualified and designated him for eminent use- 
fulness in various spheres of action and of duty ; and 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 280 

tlie circumstances of his country, in the revolutionary 
contest with Great Britain, soon presented an oppor- 
tunity for the splendid and successful exercise of all 
his versatile powers, and for the trial and illustration 
of all his Christian virtues. Independent, prompt 
and ardent, he espoused the cause of his country with 
decision and warmth ; and he pursued her interests 
with a degree of intrepidity and enterprise, of zeal 
and perseverance, which would have honored a Chris- 
tian patriot of any age. 

While the British occupied the city of New York, 
the borough of Elizabeth and its vicinity, were pecu- 
liarly exposed to incursions from the foe. Hence 
the Americans, to whom the defence of that point 
was committed, were compelled to ^exercise peculiar 
vigilance and activity in all their movements. Mr. 
Caldwell, from his perfect knowledge of the people 
and the place, and from his sagacity, alertne* and 
zeal, was remarkably calculated to give them efficient 
aid, in counsel and in action ; and he rendered them 
his services on all occasions, in a manner corres- 
ponding with his known patriotism and tried courage. 

The frequent alarms and occasional sufferings that 
speedily resulted from the warfare, and the insecurity 
of property and of life, attendant upon a residence at 
Elizabeth Town, induced Mr. Caldwell to move his 
family a short distance into the interior of the country. 
He continued his pastoral labors with as much con- 
stancy and fidelity as the state of his congregation 
and his own peculiar circumstances would permit. 
Notwithstanding the continual guard that was kept, 
and the precautionary means that were employed, a 



286 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

party of refugees, under covert of niglit, January 25, 
1780, destroyed his church by fire. 

Mr. Caldwell had for some time discharged, in an 
acceptable manner, the duties of chaplain, in the 
American army stationed near Morris Town, and 
performed voluntarily many other important services 
in aid of its operations. His zealous exertions to 
promote the cause in defence of which his country 
was arrayed in arms against a powerful foe, his-cheer- 
ful and afi"able disposition, and his urbanity of man- 
ners, continued to raise him high in the respect and 
confidence of the American officers and soldiers. 
His popularity and influence in the army, were well 
known to the enemy, and rendered him particularly 
obnoxious to those traitors to their country, who had 
abandoned its interest and joined the British standard. 
The wanton and sacriligious destruction of the church 
at Eftzabethtown, was attributed principally to this 
circumstance. 

Mr. Caldwell shared extensively in the hardships 
and hazards generally experienced ; and he was called 
in the year 1788, to encounter a peculiarly afflicting 
calamity, in the death of his excellent wife. This lady 
was the daughter of John Ogden, Esq., of Newark, 
New Jersey. Her amiable disposition, her piety and 
exemplary deportment, had obtained for her the very 
particular respect and attachment of all who knew 
her. Her life had evinced that she was worthy of 
the sphere in which she had moved, and prepared for 
the event w4iich now prematurely befell her. She 
was the mother of nine children, the eldest of whom 
was sixteen years old, and the youngest was an infant. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 287 

Notwithstanding these circumstances, on several oc- 
casions, when alarms of the enemy's approach had 
been made, Mrs. Caldwell had been induced to retire 
from her residence at Connecticut Farms, for greater 
secury, higher up in the country. Having found 
these retreats very difficult and troublesome, and, for 
the most part causeless, she determined to cast her- 
self in future on the clemency and magnanimity of 
the foe, and on the care of her covenant-keeping God. 
On the sixth of June, 1780, General Knyphausen 
came over from Staten Island, with about five thou- 
sand men, and landed in the night, at Elizabethtown 
Point. Very early next morning they directed their 
march towards Springfield, through the settlement of 
Connecticut Farms. Although Mrs. Caldwell was 
apprised of their approach in season to escape, her 
mind was made up on this subject, and she resolved, 
in humble reliance on Divine Providence, to remain 
at home. When the enemy were entering the village 
Mrs. Caldwell withdrew from the apartment she 
usually occupied, into a more retired room, for the 
purpose of devotion as well as security, with her 
infant in her arms. The maid, who had accompanied 
her to this secluded apartment, and had charge of 
the other small children, on looking out of a window 
into the back yard, observed to Mrs. Caldwell, that 
" a red coat soldier had jumped over the fence and 
was coming up to the window^, with a gun." Her 
youngest son, nearly two years old, playing upon the 
floor, on hearing what the maid said, called out, " Let 
me see — let me see!" and ran that way. Mrs. 
Caldwell rose from sitting on a bed very near ; and at 



288 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. TINLEY. 

this moment the soldier fired his musket at her through 
the window. It was loaded with two balls, which 
both passed through her body. The surrounding 
building and the house in which this deed was perpe- 
trated were soon after set on fire. It was with diffi- 
culty that the dead body of Mrs. Caldwell could be 
preserved from the general destruction that ensued. 
After it had lain some time exposed in the open 
street and in the hot sun, liberty was obtained to place 
her remains in a small dwelling house, on the opposite 
side of the road, which had survived the conflagration. 
The following night Mr. Caldwell spent at a place 
called Short Hills, not far from Springfield. He 
retired to rest in the evening in a state of excessive 
anxiety respecting the fate of his wife and children. 
The partitions of the house consisted of boards not 
very closely joined. In his sleepless state he over- 
heard two men, lodging in an adjoining room, talking 
on the subject of the death of Mrs. Caldwell. He 
rose quickly and entered their room in great agitation, 
and inquired what they heard on that subject. They 
represented it as only a rumor, and probably a mis- 
take, and persuaded him to return to his bed. The 
remainder of the night was to him a season of most 
painful suspense and anxiety. In the morning Mr. 
Caldwell procured a flag, and proceeded with all 
possible speed to the Connecticut Farms, to visit his 
family and ascertain their state. While yet at some 
distance, he discovered that the church and village 
were in ruins, and that the enemy had returned to 
Staten Island ; and very soon, he learned the truth 
of the afflicting rumor before received, that Mrs. 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 289 

Caldwell was no more. Her friends were assembled ; 
and the funeral service was performed, with as much 
solemnity and order as the desolation and alarm uni- 
versally prevalent w^ould permit. 

While this event was deeply afflicting to Mr. Cald- 
well and his numerous friends, it made a strong im- 
pression on the public mind. The following account 
of this transaction, is extracted from MarshalVs Life 
of Washington,^ and is introduced to show the views 
of this distinguished revolutionary patriot and Ameri- 
can historian, as well as of the public in general, in 
relation to the events we are here recording : — 

" At the Connecticut Farms, a flourishing settle- 
ment which took its name from the country of those 
by whom it had been planted, and which has been dis- 
tinguished for its zeal in the American cause, a halt 
was made. In a spirit of revenge, unworthy the 
general of an army, which was in the character of 
Tryon, who was present, rather than of Knyphausen 
who commanded : which served more to injure than 
advance the interests of those in whose cause he was 
engaged ; and which tended more to irritate than in- 
timidate : this settlement, including the meeting-house 
and the house of the clergyman belonging to the 
village, was reduced to ashes." 

The author here quoted then adds in a note : — 
" This circumstance would scarcely have deserved 
notice, had it not been accompanied by one of those 
melancholy events, which even war does not authorize 

* See Vol. iv. p. 225. 

25 



290 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

and which the civilized world condemns, and which 
made at the time a very deej) imjjression. 

" Mrs. Caldwell the wife of the clergyman, who 
has been mentioned, had been induced to remain in 
her house, under the persuasion that her presence 
might serve to protect it from pillage, and that her 
person could not possibly be endangered, as in the 
hope of preserving the farms Col. Dayton, who at 
that time commanded the militia, determined not to 
halt in the settlement, but to take post at a narrow 
pass on the road leading to Springfield. While she was 
sitting in the midst of her children, having a sucking 
infant in her arms, a soldier came up to the window 
and discharged his musket at her. She received the 
ball in her bosom and instantly expired. 

'"' Ashamed of an act so universally execrated, it 
was contended by the British, that this lady was the 
victim of a random shot, and even that the fatal ball 
had proceeded from the militia : in proof of which 
last assertion, they insisted that the ball had entered 
on that side of the house which looked towards the 
retreating Americans. But it was notorious that the 
militia made no stand at the Farms, and a pathetic 
representation of the fact made to the public by the 
afflicted husband, received universal credence and ex- 
cited universal indignation. The death of Mrs. 
Caldwell might indeed be considered as the act of a 
single soldier, and therefore not of itself involving 
the reputation of the army; but when with it was 
connected with the wanton and useless devastation 
committed by authority, these acts formed one con- 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 291 

nccted whole in the public mind, and served still 
more to confirm the settled hate of the well affected, 
against the British government." 

In this season of public alarm, private suffering, 
and universal confusion, Mr. Caldwell, after putting 
his domestic affairs in the most favorable situation 
practicable under existing circumstances, returned to 
his important avocations. His activity and zeal in 
the discharge of his various duties were not diminished 
and the indignation and abhorrence of the public, 
were greatly increased by this recent outrage of vio- 
lence and rapacity. 

In less than eighteen months after the tragic act 
which deprived Mr. Caldwell of his inestimable wife, 
he was himself brought to an untimely grave by a 
similar deed of horror, which appeared to be instiga- 
ted by the most savage malevolence, and was perpe- 
trated by the hand of a ruffian traitor to his country, 
wdio attempted to shelter himself under the protection 
of a British flag of truce. 

This event took place on the 24th of November 
1781. The following account of the circumstances is 
extracted from the "New Jersey Gazette," a respec- 
table paper printed at the period here referred to, 
and obligingly furnished to the writer by the Hon. 
Joseph Bloomfield dated AYednesday, December, 12, 
1781. 

" Mr. Caldwell having been informed that a young 
lady had arrived at Elizabethtown Point, in a flag of 
truce from New York, who had permission to come 
within our lines, and who is the daughter of a lady 



292 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

Tvho has distinguished herself by her great humanity, 
tenderness and generosity to the American prisoners 
in New York, and considering himself bound by his 
duty as a citizen, to render every possible service to 
the family of so worthy a character, went down to 
the Point, with an intention of waiting on the lady 
up to town ; when he arrived there, the officer then 
commanding the post at Elizabethtown, being on 
board the flag sloop, asked him whether he would go 
on board. He then stepped on board the sloop and 
was informed that the young lady had already gone 
to the town. Being about to return, a person in the 
sloop asked him whether he would take a small parcel 
tied up in a handkerchief. Mr. Caldwell consented 
to take it, went on shore, put the bundle into a chair- 
box and was driving oflf, when a soldier stepped up to 
him and said, "I must search your chair to see 
whether you have any seizable goods in that bundle." 
Mr. Caldwell then seeing it would be imprudent to 
run any further risk, asked the officer whether he 
would suffer him to return the bundle to the sloop. 
To this request the soldier readily agreeing, Mr. Cald- 
well took the bundle out of the chair-box and was 
stepping on board of the sloop to return it, when the 
murderer who was on the quarter-deck and within 
about ten yards of him, said, Damn you^ stop. Mr. 
Caldwell instantly stopped and immediately on his 
stopping, the soldier presented his musket and shot 
him ; he fell down and instantly expired without a 
groan. His funeral was attended the Tuesday follow- 
ing by a large concourse of people, when a funeral 



BIOGRAPHY OP DR. FTNLEY. 293 

sermon was preached by the Rev. Dr. M'Whorter, 
from Ecdesiastes viii. 8. 

" Mr. Caldwell was a man of very superior talents, 
whether considered as a preacher, a statesman, or a 
citizen. He was one of the first who embarked in 
the cause of his country, in which he has ever discov- 
ered a mind incapable of being intoxicated with par- 
tial successes, or meanly depressed by the clouds of 
adversity. His zeal, activity, and unshaken integrity 
under every circumstance of the present revolution, 
are deeply imprinted on the minds of his countrymen. 
As a preacher of the gospel he was excelled by very 
few of the present age ; his oratory was natural and 
pleasing, and exceedingly persuasive. He was a dili- 
gent and faithful minister of Jesus Christ, to which 
the reformed lives and conversations of a large part 
of his numerous congregation bear an unequivocal 
testimony. 

"He has left a most destitute and helpless family, 
consisting of nine children, the eldest about seventeen 
years of age, and the youngest not exceeding two, to 
experience the humanity and benevolence of those 
tender and sympathetic minds, who are not above the 
feelings of another's woe. Though Mr. Caldwell has 
been almost constantly engaged in public departments 
since the present war, which have been the source of 
riches and affluence to many others, yet such was his 
uprightness and love of his country, that his rising 
family are now left to deplore the want of a bare 
subsistence, but from the generosity of those who 
knew their father's virtues. We may justly conclude 

2^ 



294 BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 

with lamenting our country's loss, a loss to mankind 
— to human nature." 

The utmost consternation and horror seized all who 
were present, at the sudden and tragical death of Mr. 
Caldwell. The perpetrator of the shocking deed was 
for some time forgotten. Mr. Caldwell's body, life- 
less and drenched in blood, was taken up and carried 
to a public house not far distant. After the tumult 
at first excited had in some measure subsided, means 
were employed to secure the murderer, whose name 
was Morgan. He was pursued, speedily overtaken, 
and committed to prison. In the course of his trial 
afterwards, it became manifest that the murder was 
premeditated, and produced in part probably by some 
thing more than individual enmity. Morgan was con- 
demned to death ; and at the time of his execution, 
he manifested an awfully corrupt and obdurate heart. 
On being informed, when led out to be executed, that 
his time was come, and that if he had anything to say, 
he must say it quickly ; he replied, " You will all soon 
come to this. Here give this blanket," presenting it 
to the executioner, ^'to my wife. Now do your duty, 
and don't keep me here suffering in the cold." 

The remains of Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell were de- 
posited in the Presbyterian churchyard, at Elizabeth- 
town ; and on the marble slab which covers them, is 
the following honorable inscription : 

" Sacred to the memory of the Rev. James Cald- 
well and Hannah his wife, who fell victims to their 
country's cause, in the years 1780 and 1781. 

"He was the zealous and faithful Pastor of the 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 295 

Presbyterian Congregation in this town, -where, by 
his evangelical labors in the gospel vineyard, and his 
early attachment to the civil liberties of his country, 
he has left on the hearts of his people a better monu- 
ment than brass or marble. 

''Stop, Passenger!'' 

" Here also lie the remains of a woman, who exhi- 
bited to the world a bright constellation of the female 
virtues. On that memorable day, never to be for- 
gotten, when a British foe invaded this fair village, 
and fired even the temple of the Deity, this peaceful 
daughter of heaven retired to her hallowed apart- 
ment, imploring Heaven for the pardon of her enemies. 
In that sacred retreat she was by the bloody hand of 
a British ruffian dispatched, like her divine Redeemer, 
through a path of blood, to her long wished-for native 
skies." 

By the untimely and lamentable death of Mr. 
Caldwell and his wife, their numerous and interesting 
children were cast upon the affection of their friends 
and upon the providence of God. The condition of 
the country, the agitated state of public affairs^ ren- 
dered their loss incomparably greater, and the care 
of them proportionably more difficult. In Mr. Cald- 
well's zeal for the public welfare he had neglected his 
private interests. His property in a great measure, 
as well as his life, he had sacrificed to the good of his 
country. Never was public sympathy manifested 
towards a bereaved and afflicted household, more 
strikingly and affectingly than on this occasion. The 
tidings of Mr. Caldwell's death, and the mournful 



296 BIOGRAPHY OP DR. FINLEY. 

tale of his children's orphanage and helplessness, 
pervaded the whole land, inspiring deep sorrow and 
tender concern in every bosom. In the central 
regions of the country more especially, this subject 
shed a gloom over every social company, and was long 
the melancholy theme of common conversation. The 
Heavenly Father mingled his counsels and his care 
with the sensibilities of the surrounding country and 
with the weeping anxieties of friends and kindred. 
His wisdom and goodness were peculiarly manifested 
towards this interesting group of orphans, in raising 
up for them affectionate and judicious friends, dis- 
posed to train them with parental fondness and fidel- 
ity, to knowledge and piety, honor and usefulness. 
Among their principal benefactors may be enumerated 
the Hon. Elias Boudinot, LL. D. the Marquis de La 
Fayette, and General Lincoln. General Washington, 
the illustrious father of his country, transferred his 
regard and kindness for his martyred friend, Mr 
Caldwell, to his fatherless children. The Father of 
the fatherless, by his merciful interposition and care, 
remarkably fulfilled to those bereaved children the 
words of his promise, by the mouth of his servant 
David, "When my father and my mother forsake me, 
then the Lord shall take me up." That distinguished 
friend of humanity, who stands as the first of the 
earthly benefactors of this afflicted family, was the 
principal instrument employed in divine providence, 
to accomplish this desirable and happy purpose. Dr. 
Boudinot voluntarily assumed the care of these chil- 
dren, and discharged the important trust with a pa- 



BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FINLEY. 297 

rental faithfulness and constancy. Divine wisdom 
seemed to direct his ways, and the divine blessing to 
rest upon his measures. With his judicious manage- 
ment, and under the care of the great heavenly 
Parent, their lives were preserved, their minds were 
well improved, their patrimony was yearly extending, 
and their prospects brightening before them. Nor 
have the hopes which soon began to be cherished, and 
the pleasing anticipations which were formed respect- 
ing their ultimate success in life proved delusive. 
God remembered his promise ; he regarded the faith 
and the prayers of his servant and handmaid. The 
counsel and the care of anxious and devoted friends 
often prove weak and inefficient in the government 
and disposal of children. And how often do the 
prospects of fortune and the possession of wealth and 
splendor, become injurious or destructive ! But the 
Lord God is a friend, a helper and a solace indeed, to 
all who cast their care upon him; for he careth for 
them. 



APPENDIX. 



I.— ON LIBERIA. 

Leaving Sierra Leone for Monrovia, with a fair wind, we pass- 
ed Sherbro Island and tiae Shebar and Gallinas rivers, and on 
the second day made Cape Mount. 

The country between Sierra Leone and the Sherbro is covered 
with timber, miich of which is annually exported. With the ex- 
ception of about ten miles along the coast, the Shebar is now the 
northern boundary of the republic of Liberia. 

Twenty miles from Cape Mount is Half-cape Mount river, whicli, 
in part belies its name ; for it is a fine river, flowing through a 
level country, uninterrupted, as far as the eye can sec, by the 
slightest elevation. 

From Cape Mount to Cape Mesurado, is tlie Dey country, cut 
up in small districts, held by petty kings, who, while outwardly 
acknowledging the jurisdiction of the republic, are continually 
holding palavers ; i. e., quarreling among themselves. The word 
" palaver," with a great many phases to its meaning, generally 
implies a discussion, to decide upon a right assumed, or a right 
disputed ; or indemnity for a wrong ; or the enforcement of a con- 
tract. It is in fact, the court of law of the tribes, and suits are 
brought before it. 

The Deys, more tractable but not more trustworthy than the 
Veys, are somewhat given to agriculture, and possess considerable 
mechanical skill in the weaving and dyeing of cotton cloths, 
and the manufacture of household articles and instruments of 



300 APPENDIX. 

warfare. They are considered less numerous than the Yeys, and 
are a more indolent and inoffensive race, numbering from 6,000 to 
8,000. The dialect of these two tribes has some affinity, but dif- 
fers from other languages along the coast. Although very imper- 
fect, the missionaries have succeeded in reducing it to significant 
characters, and translating into it a compilation of the gospels. 

At daylight, on the 31st of January, we made Cape Mesurado 
dimly visible through a thin white mist which shrouded the hori- 
zon. The mist hanging over the lowlands, but not rising above 
the tops of the trees, gave to the scene very much the appearance 
of a general inundation. "We soon after heard the splashing of 
paddles in the water, and in a few moments a number of canoes 
came swiftly forth from the obscurity, and revealed two or three 
natives nearly naked, sitting upright in each, and handling their 
paddles with great dexterity. These canoes are dug out of the 
bombax ceiba, pullam or wild cotton tree of the. country, and 
being very light, narrow, and long, with a slight upward curve at 
each extremity, float buoyantly and gracefully upon the water. 

As we slowly sailed along, the mist in the meanwhile rising 
with the sun, the surrounding scenery, feature by feature, was 
unveiled, and by the time we cast our anchor in the bay the whole 
was distinctly revealed. 

Abreast of us was a lofty promontory; a little beyond, and 
partly hidden by it was the town of Monrovia ; and to the east 
and north a densely wooded country, its sandy shore interrupted 
only in two places, where the rivers Mesurado and St. Paul's find 
outlets to the sea — those outlets marked by the foam of breakers 
flashing in the sunlight. 

The pitch of Cape Mesurado is gently rounded ; but its face is 
abrupt, and would present a rugged appearance, were it not cover- 
ed with a mantle of the richest green I have ever looked upon, 
resembling, if anything, the hue of lichens and mosses in some 
sequestered ravine, from the sides of which water imperceptibly 
trickles. Except a very narrow strip of beach, with a few outly- 
ing rocks at the very water's edge, all is one mass of foliage — tan- 
gled vines and shrubbery beneath, but above a dense growth of 
trees, becoming more and more lofty, until those on the summit 
rear their heads above and half conceal the light house, an indif- 



APPENDIX. 301 

ferent frame building, stained and defaced by the weather ; which, 
except in its greater height, recalls to mind one of those narrow 
and neglected tobacco houses so often seen in our southern States. 

Monrovia, which contains about 300 houses and 2,000 inhabi- 
tants, is built, as I have said, on a depression of the ridge which 
sweeps inland from the Cape. About midway the length of the 
principal street the land swells up like an earth-wave, and sinks 
immediately down the street, crossing the summit and following 
the declivity. On the summit is Fort Hill, where, in December, 
1822, in the infancy of the settlement, the heroic Ashraun, rising 
from his bed of sickness, with thirty-four brave colonists repulsed 
an assault made by eight hundred savages. 

The houses are detached, being built on lots of a quarter of 
an acre each. They are of good size, some two stories, but most 
of them one and a half, consisting of a single story of frame rest- 
ing on a basement of stone, with a portico front and rear. Many 
of them were neatly, and two or three handsomely furnished. — 
There were twelve houses under construction, mostly of stone ; 
and there were besides a few which looked in good preservation j 
but most of the frame dwellings presented an old and dilapidated 
appearance, owing to the humid climate during half the year, the 
scarcity of whitewash and paint, and the ravages of the beeg — a 
bug — a destructive species of termite. For the last reason, all 
the new houses not built in the native fashion — of wattles, mud, 
and grass — are constructed of stone, Avhile the old frame ones are 
abandoned to decay. . 

In almost every yard there Avere fruit trees — mostly the lime, 
the lemon, the banana, the pawpaw — and the coflfee tree ; some- 
times the orange, and now and then the soursopand the tamarind. 
The oranges were good, but scarce ; and the lemons large and tine. 
The cocoa grows abundantly, and the pomegranate, the fig, the 
vine, and a tree bearing the cashew-nut, are to be seen, but not in 
abundance. 

The soil is thin and not productive, resting upon a ferruginous 
rock which occasionally crops out. The gardens are enclosed by 
wooden palings, generally in a state of decay, or by stone walls 
Avithout mortar. In them Avere only a fcAv collards and some 
cassada, SAveet potatoes, and arroAV-root. But it is not the proper 

26 



302 APPENDIX. 

season for vegetables, and a few months hence these gardens may, 
and doubtless will, present a more gratifying appearance. 

The suburbs, the river, and the inner harbor, are commanded by 
Fort Hill, as the outer anchorage is by that of Fort Norris at the 
cape. 

The view from Fort Hill is a very fine one. To the west and 
southwest it overlooks the houses and the trees far out upon the 
sea ; on the north and east, Stockton creek and the two branches 
of the Mesurado flow gently through an alluvial plain ; and to the 
southeast the eye follows the direction of the ridge which stretches 
far into the interior. 

On Broadway, south of Fort Hill, is the government house — a 
large stone building, with arched windows and a balcony in front. 
The lower floor is used as a court-room and printing-office, and 
the upper as the hall of legislative council : behind it is the jail ; 
directly opposite is the President's mansion — a double two-story 
brick-house, with a front portico — its roof sustained by lofty 
columns. It is the most imposing building in the place. There 
are five churches, all well attended. Indeed, I never saw a more 
thorough-going church community, or heard a greater rustling of 
silk, on the dispersal of a congregation, than here ; all were at 
least sufliciently attired : and the dresses of the children were in 
better taste than those of their mothers. One of the most gratify- 
ing things I noticed was the great number of Avell-dressed and 
well-behaved children in the schools and about the streets. The 
schools are also numerous and well attended. I did not see suffi- 
cient to justify the expression of an opinion, except that, while I 
noticed the attendance was full in almost every one, it seemed to 
me that, in some instances, the acquirements of the teachers were 
surpassed by the capacities of their scholars : but for all the pur- 
poses of rudimental education the materials are ample. I feel a 
delicacy in alluding to this subject, and only say what has escaped 
me from a solicitude that the generation now coming forward may 
sustain the institutions of the republic. 

The colonists were all decently clothed : and of the natives 
moving about the streets, with very few exceptions, the most in- 
diff"erently clad wore a long loose shirt, but their heads and legs 
were bare. One of the latter 1 saw reading apparently a book 
which he held before him as he walked. 



APPENDIX. 303 

On the outskirts of the town is a large coffee grove, which did 
not seem to be in a thriving condition ; and altogether, in and 
around Monrovia, agriculture wore a languishing appearance. 
This is doubtless owing, in part, to the poverty of the soil, and in 
part to the overweening spirit of trade ; there being evidently a 
preponderance of petty retail shops. I must say, however, that the 
town presented a far more prosperous appearance than I had been 
led to anticipate. From its fine situation it must eventually be a 
salubrious one. The sea-breeze at all seasons blows directly over 
it, and in this respect it is far preferable to Sierra Leone. The 
bifurcation of the river St. Pauls to the north gives, through 
Stockton creek, its southern branch, a direct and easy access to 
that river at all times, without encountering the perils of either 
bar. On the southeast the east branch of the Mesurado is separa- 
ted by a portage only five miles from the head of Junk river, 
which flows into the sea thirty-five miles down the coast. Mon- 
rovia will therefore be the outlet of the products of an extent of 
country not less than 1,250 square miles. 

During the time of the Portuguese ascendency, the Mesurado 
was called Rio Duro, from the cruelty of the natives — a cruelty 
fostered, if not engendered, by the whites. 

It is but fair to state, that the land on the northeast Mesurado 
gives little promise of being soon brought into cultivation. The 
banks are so low as to be overflowed at every tide, and are covered, 
as far as the eye can reach, with an impenetrable growth of man- 
groves, while the sluggish stream is discolored by the black mud 
of the marshes, from which at at low water, a most off"ensive odor 
is exhaled. 

At 13 miles from Monrovia, the east branch is too shallow for 
canoe navigation ; and a quarter of a mile above its source is an 
extensive morass, overgrown with long grass and mangrove 
bushes. The scenery is the same as that on the northeast branch. 
A short distance from the morass is the native village ; the soil 
around is exhausted from repeated cultivation, and producing 
little else than cassada. 

From thence, across the portage, to the Red Junk river, the 
surface of the country is nearly level, with extensive fields, no 
longer under cultivation, skirted with open forests. 



304 APPENDIX. 



ST. PAUL'S. 

The banks are uneven — at some places high and steep ; at others 
coming down with a slope to the water's edge. On each side is a 
belt of cultivation, with a dense forest-growth behind it ; and the 
most conspicuous objects of the scene were the light-green, broad- 
leaved foliage of the banana, clustering about every settlement, 
and the detached and distant palm-trees, which reared their dark, 
tufted heads above the surrounding mass of vegetation. 

The appearance of this tree is majestic, yet graceful. Its round 
smooth trunk springs, shaft-like, into the air, from sixty to 
upwards of a hundred feet, and then expands its rich, fringe-like 
leaves into a canopy, twenty or thirty feet in diameter. 

The St. Paul's narrows very gradually in ascending it, and to 
the head of navigation is nowhere less than one-fourth of a mile in 
width. For the whole distance of fourteen miles from its mouth, 
there is a greater depth of water in the channel of the river than 
on the bars ; and, for its length, it is a magnificent stream, pouring 
down such a volume of water as to render it certain that, however 
soon its navigation may be interrupted, it has its sources far in 
the interior. 

The soil on both sides is a loamy clay, equal in fertility to the 
best sugar lands in Brazil. There are on the banks of the river four 
hundred farms and three thousand cultivators. Many of. the 
houses are built of brick, two of them double-sized two-story ones 
and there were seven brick-kilns. 

I landed at four or five places, and saw every indication of 
comfort and prosperity — far more so than in Monrovia. The 
houses were well furnished, and in one of them was a room, 
specially assigned for the purpose, Avhich contained a small but 
good library. The principal articles I saw in cultivation were 
sugar, coffee, cassada, arrow-root, yams, sweet potatoes, and a few 
ground-nuts. Among the fruits were the luscious pine-apple, 
oranges, lemons, limes, bananas, plantains, and the paw-paw; 
the last, in cooking, an excellent substitute for the apple. A little 
cotton is raised for domestic use. The sugar-cane was growing 
finely ; and at one of the forms I witnessed the operation of grind- 
ino- it. The apparatus, in part the invention of the owner, was 



APPENDIX. o05 

an ingenious one, but very wasteful in its j)rocess ; yet the propri- 
etor expected to make nine thousand pounds of sugar and several 
hundred gallons of molasses this year. I tasted the sirup, which, 
owing, I presume, to the high temperature, was thinner than I 
have seen it during the grinding season in Louisiana. Some of 
the sugar of last year's crop was as light in color and as well 
granulated as the best Porto Rico I have seen. I scarce think, 
however, that sugar can to any extent be profitably cultivated, 
owing to the deficiency of capital and the consequent want of 
machinery. 

Coffee will, I think, become eventually the great staple of this 
section of country. The tree grows indigenous, can be transplan- 
ted with ease, and requires little care in cultivation ; and, where it 
is not extensively grown, its berry may be gathered as a pastime by 
women and children. I was shown one sample raised on the St. 
Paul's and tried another gathered in Monrovia. The last, which I 
did not see in the berry, was excellent ; but I cannot sustain the 
assertion that it is better than the Mocha. The former was of a 
clear light color, and the grains were the largest I hive ever seen ; 
I am not aware, however, that the large size of the grain, isperse, 
an indication of superior quality. 

From all that I could observe or learn from others, a taste for 
agriculture is becoming prevalent; and I cannot give a better idea 
of the prosperity of the settlements on the St. Paul's, than by 
stating that cleared land fronting on the river sells at from $40 to 
$50 per acre. Some of the country seats looked beautiful from the 
river, and their names are characteristic of their owners ; some being 
unpretending but expressive; some classic, and some scriptural — 
" Pleasant View,'' " Iconium," and '-Mount Horeb." 

Opposite to Caldwell is the settlement of New Virginia ; where 
in 1847, the government of the United States built a receptacle for 
liberated Africans. Higher up are Kentucky, Heddington and 
Millsburg. Heddington was fiercely attacked by the natives in 
1841, and gallantly defended by a missionary and one of the colo- 
nists; the leader of the assailants was killed and his party dis- 
persed. These four are little more than a close contiguity of small 
farms ; but Millsburg, at the head of navigation, and the farthest 
inland settlement in Liberia, is a flourishing village an»l missionary 

2(i* 



806 APPENDIX. 

school station ; and on the opposite side of the river is the mission 
of '• White Plains." 

From its situation, Millsburg must be comparatively healthy, and 
is certainly beautiful. The river, separated by an island into two 
channels, there forces itself over a rocky ledge with the rushing 
sweep and hoarse sound of a rapid. The ledge is, however, a nar- 
row one, and a channel through it might be blasted with gun- 
powder, or it could be flanked by a canal. Above the ledge the 
stream is unobstructed for about ten miles, and the country through 
which it flows is yet more rolling and beautiful than it is below the 
rapids. The soil is a rich mould, formed by the vegetable decay 
of centuries, resting on a substratum of clay, and covered Avith a 
luxuriant forest. 

At the rapids are a number of islands, clothed with luxuriant 
vegetation ; and, as was remarked by the lamented Dr. Randall^ 
the islands differ from each other in their verdure, and from that 
of the main land. Each one seems to have caught, in th autum- 
nal inundations, the seeds and roots of particular plants and shrubs 
brought down from the interior ; for, while diff"ering from those 
on the main, no two resemble each other in their peculiar foliage. 
Above the islands the country is represented as most beautiful, 
bearing trees of immense size, clear of undergrowth, and having 
their branches interwoven with vines, and decorated with gaudy 
parasitic plants, forming a shade impervious to the sun, and im- 
parting a coolness to the atmosphere which is truly delightful. 
The stream, irregular in its Avidth, sometimes forces its Avay through 
fissures in the rocks, and at others forms deep pools, where the 
water is so transparent that the bottom is distinctly visible. It 
seems as if the foot of man had never trodden these lovely soli- 
tudes, where the silence is only interrupted by the murmuring 
sound of water, the scream of the fish-haAvk, and the chattering 
of monkeys pursuing their gambols among the trees. 

This must, however, be taken cum grano sails ; for, in the rainy 
season the river overfloAvs its banks and inundates the country. 

The riA'er St. Paul's has its source in the same range of hills 
from Avhich the Karamanka issues ; and by barometrical measure- 
ment, these hills are 1,400 feet in height, which is about the eleva- 
tion of the head-AA-aters of the Mississippi. The scenery of the 



APPENDIX. ?>07 

upper St. Paul's will, therefore, compare with that of the Kara- 
manka, although more than two degrees intervene between their 
outlets. 

The late Major Laing thus describes the country bordering on 
the latter river: 

" The valleys are picturesque and fertile, and are watered by 
numerous rivulets, which, running from north to south, collect 
behind the loft}' hill of Botato, and contribute in swelling the river 
Karamanka. I was frequently induced to stop to contemplate the 
lovely scene around me, consisting of extensive meadows clothed 
Avith verdure ; fields from which the springing rice was sending 
forth its vivid shoots, not inferior in beauty and health to the 
corn-fields of England in March, interspersed here and there with 
a patch of ground studded with palm trees; while the neighboring 
hills, some clothed with rich foliage — some exhibiting a bald and 
weather-beaten appearance, formed a noble theatre around me. 
We left the town of Nijiniah, on the Karamanka, and having walked 
an hour and three-quarters, gained the summit of one of the hills; 
and in one direction, on the opposite side, a scene quite panoramic 
broke upon the view ; an extensive valley, parti}' cultivated and 
partly covered with a long natural grass, about five feet high, with 
lines of stately palm-trees, as regular as if laid out by art, and 
here and there a cluster of camwood trees, their deep shade afford- 
ing a relief to the lighter hue of the smaller herbage. 

" These, with a murmuring rivulet, meandering through the 
centre, exhibited the appearance of a well cultivated and tastefully 
arranged garden, rather than a tract amid the Avilds of Africa ; 
whilst in the distance, mountain towered above mountain in all the 
grandeur and magnificence of nature." 

Without being so Avide or so impetuous in its current, there is 
much in the St. Paul's (one feature excepted) to suggest what 
might have been the appearance of the Mississippi above La 
Eourche, and below Baton Rouge, before the less pretending houses 
of the Creole planters were displaced by the stately mansions of 
the present proprietors. 

The St. Paul's connects, it is said, Avith .Hall-cape Mount river 
by a branch that runs parallel with the coast, and both abound in 
fish and a small species of the ^^ Ilippopotanni^ liberiensis^'' thus 
named by the late Dr. Morton, of Philadelphia, from crania' sent to 



308 APPENDIX. 

him by Dr. Gohecu. This animal is said to be extremely tenacious 
of life, and, except to gunpowder and ball, almost invulnerable. 
When injured he becomes dangerous ; but if unmolested, never, 
the natives say, attacks any one. The flavor of the flesh is des- 
cribed as intermediate between that of veal and beef. 

About seventy miles from Millsburg, in a direction a little east 
of north, is Boporah, a large native town, formerly containing 
more than a thousand houses, fortified with a strong barricade. 
The path to it leads through a dense forest, in which there are 
elephants and a great many other wild animals. For the first fifty 
miles there are no villages, and the only natives met with are the 
elephant hunters, who are numerous, and represented as friendly. 
The St. Paul's passes within twenty-five miles of the town, wind- 
ing, in its course, among many islands. 

We landed just below Bassa Point, near the dwelling of a colo- 
nist. It was recently built, in a clearing in the midst of a grove 
of palm-trees ; and I found him, with three or four natives in his 
employment, busied in extracting from the palm-nut the rich oil 
it yields. After resting a short time under his thatched roof, with 
the assistance of his laborers, we dragged the boat up the high 
shelving bank, and over a narrow strip of sand, and launched her 
in the South Junk, which, flowing nearh' parallel with the coast, 
imites with the other branches just inside the bar. 

From thence we pulled over to the village of Marshall, on the 
northern bank, about half a mile frouk the river's mouth. This 
was the last settlement made by the parent Colonization Society 
in Liberia. It is elevated about forty feet above the river, and its 
situation is a fine one in appearance ; but the soil around it is 
poor, and the place far from flourishing. Originally laid out on 
an enlarged plan, it now contains but thirty or fort}' houses, built 
along the river bank — a few of them frame buildings, but most of 
them plastered mud-walls, with thatched roofs — manj^ presenting 
a dilapidated appearance. 

The only article of export I saw was a quantity of lime, made 
from the oyster-shell upon the shore ; and I was assured that this 
place wholly supplies Monrovia, and partly the other settlements 
with this invaluable building material. Oysters are plentiful here ; 
but they are only palatable when cooked ; and the river abounds 
with mullet. There is some small traffic here with the natives in 



I 



APPENDIX. HOD 

camwood, palm-oil, and a little ivory; l)ut it is much interfered 
with by dealers from Monrovia. 

It being Sunday when I arrived, after conversing with some of 
the citizens, I accepted an invitation to attend church, and there 
heard a sermon from a venerable colored preacher which I shall 
not soon forget. I have heard many stereotyped sermons, but 
never one to move me as much as this. The distant booming of 
the surf on one side, through which I had to pass to rejoin my 
companions, and the dark, teeming forest upon the other, tended 
no doubt, to enhance the solemnity of the scene ; for, seated upon 
a rush floor beneath a roof of thatch, as I listened to the earnest 
tones of the feeble old man, I never felt more impressed with a 
sense of my own undeserving. I mention this, because I conceive 
that I should withhold nothing which may convey a correct idea of 
the impressions made on me in Liberia. In a personal sense, these 
impressions are insignificant and wholly unworthy of record. 
Their only importance is derived from the scene which gave them 
birth, and from the inference to be drawn from it, that Christianity 
has its exemplars in benighted Africa, as well as in our own more 
favored land. 

About a mile above the settlement is the confluence of two 
streams — the Red Junk, flowing down from the north, and the 
Junk, or main stream from the east. The Red Junk, near its 
source, is connected with the eastern branch of the Mesurado by 
a narrow portage. At the junction the banks of both streams 
are low and bordered with mangrove thickets. 

About two miles up the Red Junk there is a native vilUige, and 
from thence the banks become more elevated and present a more 
attractive appearance. The palm trees become more frequent, 
and, in the space of twenty miles, the scene is enlivened by a 
number of villages— the light green leaves of the banana indicating 
their locality long before the brown roofs become visible. The 
course of the stream is winding, and its width various ; at times 
but 150 to 200 yards, with comparatively high banks, and again 
spreading out to nearly a mile in width, with low and sedgy shores. 
The vegetation is very luxuriant and much diversified in its 
character. The scenery of the river's banks is described as rich 
beyond conception. 

'' Trees of singular form and foliage spring from the deep, rich 



310 APPENDIX. 

soil, and rear their heads to an amazing height ; while their 
branches are covered with a beautiful drapery of vines, forming a 
dense shade, and hanging, in many places, to the surface of the 
water." 

Looking closely at these trees, a large black knot is occasion- 
ally seen swelling irregularly out of the branch to which it attach- 
es. It would be set down as a fungus, but that a more scrutini- 
zing glance detects the head of a snake projected above the coil, 
in an attitude of menacing vigilance. On the near approach of 
the boat every fold is shaken out, as by a single effort, and the 
snake precipitates itself into the water and disappears. It is the 
well known black snake, measuring from four to six feet in length 
and two to four inches in diameter, which frequents the banks of 
rivers, and is said, by the natives, to be amphibious. 

The fertility of the soil, combined with the presence of moisture, 
gives a peculiar depth and vividness of green to the foliage ; and 
the stream as smooth as a polished mirror, reflects the variegated 
beauties which clothe its banks. Occasionally a light native ca- 
noe shoots down with the current, or paddles up stream, close 
along the shore ; while among the trees a short distance back, 
monkeys are seen springing from limb to limb, in pursuance of 
their gambols. As on the St. Paul's and the Mesurado, the stran- 
ger is little annoyed by mosquitoes and flies, and is struck with 
the scarcity of birds and flowers. 

In the rainy season the first deficiency may be more than satis- 
factorily supplied, and the moist gloomy shades of the forest are 
unfit nurseries for flowers, which thrive best in a light soil where 
they can expand their petals to the sun. 

Of the birds to be seen in the recesses of the wood, very few 
are gifted with melodious notes ; but by the compensatory law of 
nature, some of them are magnificent in their plumage. Of these, 
the sun-bird, scarce larger than our smallest humming-bird, with 
its scarlet breast, tinged straw-color at the edges, its emerald 
throat and back, and dove colored wings, and a tail longer than 
its body, is the most beautifully conspicuous. Others I saw wholly 
of one color — some of the deepest indigo-blue, and others a rich 
tinted orange. But they partook of the spirit of the solitude in 
Avhich they dwelt, and flitted silentl}^ from tree to tree before the 
footsteps of the intruder. 



APPENDIX. oil 

Like the Red Junk, the Junk proper has low banks, bordered 
with mangroves for about three miles from the junction, where 
the shore rises on each side and the soil becomes fertile, occasion- 
ally presenting a slight elevation, on each side of which is a set- 
tlement comprising three farms of colonists and two native villages. 

The river averages about 300 yards in width to King Kymo- 
cree's village — a collection of twelve or fourteen low-pitched, mud- 
plastered huts, with projecting thatched roofs and uneven clay 
floors. In the centre of the floor is the fireplace — the only outlet 
for the smoke being the low and narrow door-way, near which 
the inmates are always, by preference seated. The principal 
building, in front of which the king held his audience, was built 
of wattled cane ; but not plastered, being open all around. About 
six feet from the floor were cross-pieces ; on which up to the roof, 
was piled rice in the sheaff, to be dried by the smoke of the coun- 
cil fire. The king is short of stature, but with a muscular frame ; 
and his features altogether are more of the true negro type than I 
have thus far seen in Africa. He was cordial and communica- 
tive : and the colonists represented him as a staunch friend and 
ally, having in the late war borne arms gallantly in their behalf. 
He possesses a number of villages — the male inhabitants, like 
those of the one we were in, being nearly all absent some distance 
inland, clearing land preparatory to sowing rice. He presented 
us to three of his wives and six or eight children ; declaring that 
the latter were so numerous, that he did not know them all by 
sight. His tribe is one of the many ramifications of the Bassas, of 
whom I will speak further on. 

From the Junk to the St. John's river the coast preserves its south- 
east direction, with the same monotonous features, except some 
red and white cliff's which abut upon the shore below the former; 
and inland the range of Bassa hills and the insolated Mount 
St. John, which become visible on approaching the latter river. 

We anchored off the mouth of the St. Johns too late to enter it 
by daylight. On the following morning Ave started for the shore, 
and passed a Liberian schooner, bound to Monrovia with a cargo 
of palm oil, and an English cutter coming up from the southward, 
we steered for the opening in the line of beach, where, with a 
graceful curve and a rapid sweep, the river finds an outlet ; and, 
crossing the bar on a heavy roller, we landed at Buchanan. 



312 APPENDIX. 

Within the bar are concentrated the waters of three rivers : the 
Mechlin, flowing from the north ; the St. John's, from the north- 
east ; and the Benson river from the east. This great body of ac- 
cumulated water is forced through a passage narrower than the 
principal stream ; and when the tide is ebb and the wind blows 
fresh upon the shore, there is drawn across it a line of terrific 
breakers. At this season, however, the winds are ordinarily light, 
and with a skilful pilot the bar can be passed in safety. 

On the sandy peninsula between the Mechlin and the sea, just 
within the confluence, some thirty feet above the water, is the 
village of Edina ; the streets contiguous to and running parallel 
with the river. This settlement consists of a church and some 
twenty or thirty dwellings, of Avhich the former and three-fourths 
of the latter are frame buildings ; the rest are thatched huts. 

On Benson river, adjoining the toAvn, there Avas a small steam 
saw-mill in operation , and in the cove beyond it, one small ves- 
sel was hauled up for repairs, and two others were anchored in 
the stream. 

Between the Benson river and the confluent streams, before they 
mingle with the sea, Buchanan is built, on wide streets running 
parallel Avith the beach, and they are less encumbered with weeds 
than those of Edina. Unprotected by whitewash or paint, the 
houses all present a dingy, semi-dilapidated appearance, except 
the house of Judge Benson, on the south side of the cove ; which 
looks fresh and beautiful, embowered; as it is, in an extensive 
grove of coflFee-trees. 

The St. John's river is as wide as would be the united streams 
of the Mechlin and the Benson. It is half a mile Avide at the es- 
tuary ; and for a mile further up, is fringed Avith the mangrove. — 
Thence it gradually lessens in width, and at the distance of three 
miles is divided into tAvo channels by Factory Island, on Avhich 
Mr. Ashmun contemplated forming a settlement. Above the 
island the river narroAvs more rapidly, and does not exceed 200 
yards in Avidth at Bexley, a missionary school station, and rather a 
farming settlement than a village, seven miles from the river's 
mouth. 

Opposite to the mission is the toAvn of " King Soldier'' a vener- 
able and friendly old man, upAvards of one hundred years old. — 
A little above is another island, half a mile bevond AA'hich is the 



APPENDIX. 313 

head of navigation, where the immediate banks are about twelve 
feet high. 

The scenery is the same as that on the Junks, except that there 
are more frequent indications of agricultural improvement. After 
the mangrove ceases, the soil is a yellow clay ; and the principal 
growth on and near the water's edge is a medium sized tree, from 
its peculiar properties called the soap-tree ; and the more lofty 
pullam or Avild cotton tree, the sassy-wood tree, and the palm tree. 
The qualities of the soap-tree are the same as those Herodotus 
mentions, of the shavings of which the Scythian women made a soft 
paste, whei'ewith they plastered their bodies, and stripped it oft' again 
when quite dry; by whichmeans the skin Avas thoroughly cleansed. 
One of the farm-houses at which I stopped was finely situated 
on a rolling piece of ground, some eighty feet above and one hun- 
dred and fifty yards distant from the river. It was well furnished 
and contained two rooms and a kitchen below stairs, and an attic 
sleeping-room above. It was the workmanship of the owner — an 
emigrant from Staunton, in Virginia ; and the neat, yet strong 
stairway of wattled cane, and the partitions made of rushes, 
attested his industry an^d skill ; while a small, but good library, 
proved that he possessed yet other resources. Himself, his wife 
and daughter, made the same declaration, which, with two excep- 
tions (and those unprotected females,) I have heard from many 
others — that nothing could induce them to again take uj) their 
residence in the United States. 

On the banks of the river between Buchanan and Bcxley, are 
the farms of eight or ten colonists, with as many native settlements, 
and I think that I counted two brick-kilns ; but, as on the branches 
of the Junk and the St. Paul's, the settlements extend only a short 
distance ])ack from the river. Including Bexley, there are 250 
colonists on the St. John's above Buchanan. 

The mission-house, just below the settlement of Bexley, is a fine 
two-story frame building, occupied at the time of my visit by two 
male and three female missionaries. They liad arrived a month 
previous, and were still in the enjoyment of excellent health. Al- 
though unprovided with a physician, they spoke cheerfully of 
their prospects, and^ expressed gratification at finding things so 
much better than they had anticipated. 

27 



314 APPENDIX. 

I felt a glow of pride, tempered with sympathy, as I looked upon 
my countrymen and countrj^Avomen periling all earthly hopes in 
such a noble cause. This is true heroism — the chivalry of the 
gospel ! For warlike achievements, men are almost deified ; while 
the self-sacrificing missionary, who foregoes all the comforts of 
life, and, with the cross for his banner, boldly penetrates the cloud 
which overshadows this continent, and encounters certain sick- 
ness, and death more or less premature, for the benefit of a be- 
nighted race, — the missionary is rarely named, except with the 
final enunciation, " 3Iortuus est." 

There is a considerable tract of land under cultivation at Bexley. 
I could not ascertain how much its produce has increased ; but 
some years ago it yielded GOO lbs. of coffee ; nearly 3, 000 lbs. of gin- 
ger; 1,100 baskets of sweet potatoes; 1,200 lbs. of arrow root: 
and 300 bushels of cassada. There were raised, besides, a great 
many fowls, and some sheep, goats, and cattle. 

Beyond the rajjids, the St. John's is navigable by canoes six 
miles further; from whence it is about ten miles to the base of 
Mount St. John ; beyond which is a broad valley, bounded on the 
east by elevated ridges. 

The principal forest growth beyond the head of navigation is 
camwood, bastard mahogany, African hickory, two kinds of wis- 
niore — both admirably adapted for articles of furniture — and the 
oak, diff'ering essentially from the species found from the tropics 
nearly to the polar circles, Avhicli is, throughout those regions, a 
cosmopolite of vegetation, being alike in its fruit, although much 
diversified in growth and the form of its leaves. 

From thirty to fifty miles from the sea is one uninterrupted 
camwood forest; and the wood is used by the natives as fuel, and 
for building purposes. They fell the trees, and split them up into 
billets fifteen or sixteen inches loi^, which they carry in bundles 
on their heads to the nearest point of canoe navigation. Instead 
of this slow and laborious process, it is strange that it has never 
occurred to them to launch the trees, denuded of their branches, 
and raft them down the river. The whole world might be supplied 
with camwood rafted down the St. John's. 

Most of the land bordering upon the sea has been, at different 
times, under cultivation : but after yielding the first crop, a piece of 
land is abandoned, and a new clearing made for the succeeding one. 



APPENDIX. 315 

As a natural consequence, a rapid growth of vegetation supervenes 
in the deserted field, and it becomes, in a few years, a tangled 
thicket of trees and shrubs, bound together with the lacings of in- 
terminable vines and creepers. Added to which, from the inces- 
sant wars heretofore the purpose of supplying the slave trade, the 
country along the coast has been half depopulated. Thus stripped 
of a great part of its primitive growth, and cultivated only in spots 
detached and distant from each other, the general aspect of the 
coast is that of a forest of dense and matted trees and shrubbery, 
almost destitute of its original characteristics. 

In ascending the rivers, however, a wholly different scene pre- 
sents itself. The primitive forest, in all its native grandeur, 
covers the earth ; the graceful palm-tree waves its feathery branches 
in the breeze, and the lofty wisniore and huge bastard mahogany 
rear high their towering heads, while among the green foliage is 
seen the gay coloring of blossoms on many a stately tree, which 
give a kaleidoscopic varietj* to the deep embowering Avood. Far 
up the streams, the eye is charmed with the ever-varied landscape, 
thedense trees which overhang the banks, their towering height 
and majestic size, the vivid hues of their foliage, and the sombre 
shade, despite the rays of an unclouded sun. 

The profound stillness which prevails in these solitudes was dis- 
turbed at our approach, not only by the harsh grating of the oars 
in the rowlocks, but also by the wild and not unmclodious songs 
of the boatmen, which caused the basking crocodile to plunge into 
the stream, the monkey to retire into the recesses of the wood, 
and the fish-hawk to seek another position from Avhcncc to pounce 
upon his prey. 

The territory of Little Bassa has many subdivisions, under as 
many names. It is compressed nearly into the form of a triangle 
by the Atlantic and the branches of the Junk and St. John's 
rivers ; and is also a peninsula, as these streams approach each 
other very nearly in the interior. The country abounds in cam- 
wood and palm-oil, and the demand for the last is rapidly increas- 
ing, as it is now used instead of Russian tallow in the manufacture 
of soap. Hundreds of tons of camwood, and many thousand 
gallons of oil, are annually shipped from these rivers. 

The new clearings on the river-banks, the steam saw-mill at 
Buchanan, the vessels in the cove, and the buildings under con- 



316 APPENDIX. 

struction, attest, with the exception of Ediua, that the settlements 
on the St. John's are flourishing. 

About tliree miles further down the beach from Buchanan is 
Fishtown, now being resettled, where there are twenty houses 
under construction, and a considerable tract of land cleared for 
cultivation. In the environs of the former, and on the road to the 
latter, I saw a number of cattle, larger in size than those of Mon- 
rovia. Their excellent condition verified the statement of respecta- 
ble settlers that the neighborhood is a fine grass country. 

The landing-place at Bassa Cove is protected from the sweep of 
the southwest wind, the prevalent one during the rainy season, by 
Grand Bassa Point, which bends to the north and renders the 
landing safe, except during a northerly^ wind. Unfortunately, 
when I left, the wind blew from that quarter, driving a heavy sea 
before it. It was near night-fall when I embarked in a canoe, to 
be conve^'ed through the surf to the boat, which lay beyond the 
outer breakers. I took my seat in the little dug-out, which was 
so light that I could have carried it upon my shoulders, while two 
natives, one standing at each end, kept it from being swerved en- 
tirely round and filled with water, as the waves broke upon the 
shore and washed knee-deep beyond them. As each wave receded 
the two men pointed the bow anew in the right direction, and then 
stretching themselves up to the greatest height, watched the forming 
crest of the succeeding roller, for an opportunity to launch forth 
and attempt a passage. It was necessary that those Avho had me 
in charge should not for one moment be distracted; a few friendly 
colonists, unable to resist, stood a short distance back therefore 
and watched our proceedings in silence. The scene to them 
must have been a wild and impressive one ; the tiny canoe, the 
dusky forms of the natives, now and then shown in striking con- 
trast as an angry breaker broke upon the shore, and sent its 
seething foam far up the beach, and the troubled sea beyond with 
the boat in the foreground, tossing confusedly upon it. 

We waited so long for an opportunity, that the ship, at first 
dimly visible in the distance, became lost in the fast increasing 
obscurity ; and the boat beyond the line of surf could only be dis- 
tinguished as a dark speck upon the surface. 

At last there was a sudden shout, a push, a plunge, a 
rocking violently from side to side, a rapid play of the paddles 



I 



APPENDIX. 317 

which seemed more like -wild gesticulations than a concerted 
movement : and, after a few moments' pitching and tossing, more 
than I ever pitched and tossed before, I found myself alongside the 
boat, and the canoe half filled with water. 

It Avas a long, cold, uncertain pull afterwards to the ship, four 
miles distant, against a high wind and lieavy sea, and without a 
compass, which, from fear of losing it by the upsetting of the 
canoe, had been left upon the shore. We were soon, however, 
favored with a beacon ; for a lantern was hoisted on board the 
ship. About an hour afterwards a blue light was burned ; and in 
an hour more we pulled alongside, the Kroomen too weary to keep 
up their customary song. 

The next morning Ave sailed for Sinou, eighty miles further 
down the coast, a Liberian schooner taking her departure also for 
the south a few hours before us. The two canoemen, my com- 
panions of the night before, came otf to bring the compass, and 
receive a compensation for their services. They also brought a 
specimen of coffee from Judge Benson's plantation, for exhibition 
at the NcAV York Crystal Palace. 

The Bassa tribe occupies the coast and an indefinite distance in- 
land, from the Mesurado to Settra Kroo, below Sinou. AH the 
colonial settlements of Liberia are Avithin the territory of this tribe. 
With this tribe, therefore, they are better acquainted, having daily 
and hourly intercourse Avith them ; nearly all the residents, natives 
of the settlement, being members of tliis large tribe, estimated to 
number 100,000 ! all speaking Avith little variation, the same lan- 
guage ; their physical conformation, pursuits, manners, architec- 
ture, superstitions, and productions of the country, presenting a 
striking uniformity. This tribe, like others on the coast, embrace 
a great many subdivisions, under petty chiefs, of from 15 to 20 
miles square, but forming combinations, to mure or less extent, by 
general custom and superstitious laAvs, continually harassing each 
other by family quarrels and petty jealousies. They arc neverthe- 
less, industrious in their habits, not fond of AA'andering far from 
their homes, and are imitatiA'e and desirous of improvement. 

Wars occasionally take place between tAvo or more of the sub- 
divisions : but Avhen they have occurred heretofore, the slave 
trade Avas generally the exciting cause. With the extinction of that 

27* 



318 APPENDIX, 

direful cause, its lamentable consequences it is hoped, may be 
hereafter averted 

Every town and village has its headman, "who is subject to a 
king — generally an old man, to whom, as well as to the aged in 
general, great respect is paid. These kings and headmen do not 
appear to exercise despotic authority. ^ An accused person is tried 
by the ordeal of drinking red water, a decoction of sassywood, or 
by a general palaver, which decides the innocence or guilt, and 
determines the punishment. 

Their towns are assemblages of small conical huts, placed 
without order, sometimes on the banks of rivers, but are most 
frequently hidden bj^ the surrounding woods, to which they re- 
treat when attacked by an enemy. These towns exhibit much 
pleasing harmony and good nature, having altogether the order 
and features of one great family. Polygamy is universal, the 
number of wives being the measure of a man's wealth ; jet nothing 
like indiscriminate licentiousness is to be seen. The men per- 
form no servile labor, but pass most of the j^ear in careless indo- 
lence, except the months of February, March, and April, when the 
towns appear to be deserted by them, excepting one or two hoary- 
headed patriarchs ; all others being busied in cleaning and burning 
off their farms. 

At this time the whole line of coast presents an interesting 
spectacle from the sea — volumes of smoke by day, and numerous 
blazing fires at night. The planting of rice and cassada is then 
left to the women, to whom all further labor is resigned until the 
crops are safely stored in their houses. The men then betake 
themselves to their usual pursuits and amusements. They often 
seek employment among the colonists, in order to get a supply of 
tobacco and cloth for themselves, and beads for the women. When 
they have anything to sell in the colony, the women, with their 
children strapped to their backs, carry the articles on their heads, 
while their lordly husbands walk on before, each bearing a knife 
or a gun. 

The children soon after their birth are exposed naked to the 
rays of the sun, and the manner in Avhich they are nursed is any- 
thing but gentle ; but they are veiy healthy, and few die in infancy. 
The boys, eleven or twelve years old, completely throw off all 
maternal restraint, deeming it nnmanlv to be longer controlled by 



APPENDIX. 'no 

II ■woman. Nothing will make a native boy in the service of the 
colonists run away sooner than being struck by a female. 

Their mechanical and agricultural implements are exceedingly 
simple — the latter being merely a hatchet for the men to cut down 
the bushes and trees ; and a small hoe, three inches broad, for the 
woman to plant the rice with, which, when the fruit is ripe, is cut 
down with a common knife. Tliey cook rice admirably, and all 
their peculiar dishes are highly seasoned with pepper. They live 
principally on vegetables, but are fond of animal food — snakes, 
guanas and monkeys being among their highest luxuries; and 
they are accused of not being averse to cats and dogs. Smoking 
and drinking palm wine (and rum, when it can be had) is the 
summum bonum of their existence. They rarely, however, drink to 
excess; but are fond of games of hazard, Avhich they play with 
large beans. They do not gamble, however, to the extent of some 
tribes in the interior, who first stake one limb, and then another, 
until the whole body is forfeit, and the unsuccessful player becomes 
the slave of his antagonist. 

By the labor of the missionaries a syllabic alphabet has been 
constructed for the Bassa language, which, although harsh, is 
metaphorical; the figures being drawn from natural objects. It 
is believed that there exists a similarity of construction, and no 
great disparity in the elementary sounds of the languages of the 
tribes extending from the Gallinas to Cape Palmas. Such alpha- 
bets, therefore, may prove extensively and eminently useful. 

Between the St. John's and the Sinou river there are several 
streams coming down from the interior, but, all are shallow and 
mostly difficult of access. First, the "New Cess," where was the 
last slave mart between Cape Mount and Cape Palmas. There are 
here masses of sienite upon the beach and a range of hills stretch- 
ing inland. Next, the "Little Culloh," south of the highland 
peak, and accessible to boats in fair weather, and with a good 
landing' just below it. Then follows the "Grand Culloh" river, 
with its entrance barred up at this season ; and the " Terabo," 
which has a good landing on its southern beach; "Sestos" river, 
Avhere a slave factory was long established; the "New" river, 
coming in by "Diabolito rockj" the "Broom" river, at the mouth 
of which is Bahyah rock, sixty feet above the sea ; and the "Sang- 



320 APPENDIX. 

win" and the '' Grand Bouton" rivers, tlie latter having a bluff 2G0 
feet on its southern shore, and the " Yulee"' shoal before it. 

There are many rivulets besides these streams, all pouring down, 
even in this dry season, immense volumes of water, but none of 
them admitting vessels drawing more than six feet water, except 
the " Sangwin," which at the flood has upwards of ten feet water 
upon its bar, within which it is spread out and is navigable but 
for a short distance. 

From the Sangwin to Nifou is the Kroo country, inhabited by 
an interesting race. The extent of thei» territory inland is not 
accurately known, but supposed not to exceed twenty miles, as 
they have no towns, except upon the coast. The general aspect of 
the country is champagne, and it is densely wooded, but mostly 
free from marshes. Its chief vegetable productions are rice, cas- 
sada, yams, and plantains. The rice which it produces is valued 
by traders along the coast for its superior whiteness. The rivers 
which run through it are not large, and do not probably rise at 
any great distance from the coast, although the Kroomen, whose 
ideas of distance are far from exact, represent them as extending 
a great way inland. They are full of banks and shoals which ob- 
struct navigation. 

In the Kroo country there are but five towns: "Little Kroo," 
the northernmost; "Settra Kroo," the chief tovrn: "Kroo Bah," 
" Nanaki'oo," and " Willstown." A fcAV small villages inhabited 
by strangers or slaves, are said to be scattered over the intermedi- 
ate space, and at a greater distance from the shore, for the purpose 
of cultivating the land. This small district is considered more 
populous than any along the coast. The inhabitants are employed 
by all the vessels trading between Cape Mesurado and Cape Pal- 
mas as factors, interpreters, and as auxiliaries to the crcAvs, to save 
them from exposure in boats. The Kroomen who thus employ 
themselves are seldom less than fifteen or more than forty years of 
age. Those who remain at home are chiefly employed in agricul- 
ture and a few in fishing. They rear also a few cattle. The land 
seems to form a common stock, and not to descend by inheritance. 
Each man settles where he pleases, and the labor is performed 
chiefly by the women, assisted by domestic slaves. 

The commerce of the Kroomen is carried on principally by bar- 
ter, and the articles in g-reatest demand among them are leaf- 



APPENDIX. •)-! 

tobacco, cotton cloth, handkerchiefs, lire-arms, knives, and Ijar 
iron. The last they manufiicture into implements of husbandry. 
For these articles they exchange palm-oil, a little ivory and rice, 
and occasionally supply ships with fire-wood, plantains, cassada, 
and sometimes with bullocks. They paddle in very small canoes 
to ships eight or ten miles from the shore, with not more of these 
articles than will procure for them a few leaves of tobacco — 
counting their toil and hazard as nothing. Their chief article of 
barter, however, is their labor to captains and traders on the coast. 
This is the source from whence they derive by far the greater por- 
tion of their imported 'commodities. They have long been the 
exclusive intermediate dealers between vessels trading on this part 
of the coast and the people of the interior ; and while the slave 
trade flourished, it employed a great many hands. Since the abo- 
lition of that trade, they have sought other lines of service ; and 
at Sierra Leone, 350 miles to the north, there were 800 of them 
employed in one year. The form of their government is monarchi- 
cal; but the "oZ(Z me/i'— the aristocracy of the country — possess 
considerable influence, and the power of the monarch is small, 
except when supported by them. Each town has a chief, who is 
designated as king to strangers ; but there is one chief who is 
considered superior, and rules over the whole. The power, how- 
ever, of the superior chief is very great in his own district, and 
the office, it is probable, is hereditary. At the same time the chil- 
dren of the greater chiefs work as laborers in clearing the ground, 
while they are young men, in exactly the same manner as the lowest 
of the people; nor are they to be distinguished on ordinary occa- 
sions by their attire, or by superior respect being paid to them. 

With respect to the principal monarch, his power is seldom 
exercised; and instead of being the source of all authority, the 
fountain of justice, the original proprietor and ultimate heir to all 
the land, he is in general no more than the last referee in impor- 
tant disputes, and the person in whose name business with other 
tribes or countries is transacted. A general war must be carried 
on in his name, but independent of the concurring voice of those 
headmen who possess the greatest share of talent and activity. 
His power is probably far less than that of some of his subordi- 
nate chiefs. This remark applies not only to the Kroomcn, but to 
all the African tribes not of the Mohammedan faith. 



322 APPENDIX. 

A king usually names a vice-king, who, on the death of the 
former, succeeds him in sovereign authority. A mourning cry of 
several days' continuance takes place on the death of a king, 
during which time the succession is arranged. The bodj' of a 
deceased king must be interred with the honors due to his rank 
before his successor can be recognized. The possession of the 
body is therefore the first thing aimed at by competitors for the 
throne. 

Wars are not frequent among them ; but the inhabitants of the 
different towns sometimes have very serious quarrels. When at 
war, all Kroomen who are made prisoners are released on the 
payment of a ransom. They neither kill nor sell them. Prisoners 
of other tribes are enslaved or put to death. The submission of 
Kroomen to their superiors is carried so far, that, if one of the 
foremen commit a theft, the rest will run any risk, and resist every 
temptation of reward, rather than reveal it; and if there be no 
other mode of saving their superior from disgrace and punishment, 
they will assume the crime, and suffer its penalty. Among them- 
selves, theft is punished by whipping. The punishment of adultery 
is by fine. Murder may be punished with death, but it, also, may 
be atoned for by a pecuniary fine. Witchcraft is always punished 
capitally; but instances of it are rare. 

Among Kroomen no offence is punishable with slaver^', nor is 
any Krooman permitted to be sold on any account whatever ; but 
while the slave trade continued, they were notorious for kidnapping 
and selling the Bushmen, who came down to the coast for the 
purpose of trade. 

Kroomen are seldom very tall; but they are well made, mus- 
cular, vigorous and active. They wear no clothes, except a piece 
of cloth or a kerchief wrapped around their loins ; but they are 
fond of obtaining hats and old woollen jackets, which they are 
allowed to wear in their own country in the rainy season. They 
are extremely sensible to cold during this season, but never appear 
to suflFer from the heat. They are generally gay and cheerful in 
their dispositions, and frequently talkative and noisy, often evinc- 
ing much talent for mimicry. They seldom speak English well, 
and they understand it but imperfectl3\ They are very fond of 
adopting what man-of-war sailors call ''pursers' names," such as 
" pipe of tobacco," " bottle of beer," " tin pot," " pea soup," " half 



APPENDIX. 823 

dollar," "after breakfast," &c. They are very sensitive; and, if 
harsh and angry expressions are used towards them, become sulky 
and intractable. But they will bear even a t^liarp blow if their 
negligence deserves it, provided it seems to be given more in jest 
than in earnest. 

In their general conduct, they are more deliberate than impet- 
uous ; and, although not a brave race, they are less cowardly than 
the tribes immediately above and below them. 

Among themselves they are exceedingly hospitable ; and when 
absent from their country, those who are unemployed are sup- 
ported by those who are receiving wages. In their expenditures 
they are rigid economists, a little tobacco being the only luxury 
which they allow themselves ; in every other respect, they are 
content with the bare necessities of life. A small quantity of 
ship-biscuit was the only article of provisions taken by those who 
accompanied me in my boat expeditions. Although fond of rum, 
they never buy it, and never drink to excess when it is given to 
them ; and their clothing on board of a man-of-war consists only 
of a flannel shirt and drawers, and a straw hat. On board of 
trading vessels they wear their shore attire, and the cost of their 
clothing is insignificant. 

The residue of their gains is converted into such goods as are 
most valuable in their own country. In eighteen months or two 
years a sufficient stock has been collected, and the Krooman re- 
turns home with his Avealth. A certain portion is given to the 
head man of the town ; all his relations and friends partake of 
his bounty, if there be but a leaf of tobacco for each ; and his 
mother, if living, has a handsome present. All this is done in 
order " to get him a good name ; ' what remains is delivered to 
his father '• to buy him a wife.' One so liberal does not lung 
want a partner. The father obtains a Avife for him ; and after a 
few months of ease and indulgence, he sets off afresh to diflerent 
parts of the coast, from Sierra Leone to Fernando Po, to get more 
money. By this time he is proud of being acquainted with " white 
man's fashions," and takes with him some raw, inexperienced 
youngsters, Avhoui he initiates into his profession, taking no small 
portion of the wages of the eleves for his trouble. In due time his 
coffers are replenished ; he returns home, confirms his former 
character for liberality, and gives the residue of his wealth to 



324 APPENDIX. 

• 
his father " to get him another wife."' In this way he proceeds for 
ten or twelve years, or more, increasing the number of his wives, 
and establishing a great character among his countrymen ; but 
scarcely a particle of his earnings, except in the article of wires, 
is at any time applied to his own use. 

A Krooman sometimes presents his favorite wife with one of his 
front teeth, which he has had extracted for that purpose ; and he 
mourns for a departed friend by shaving all the hair from the back 
or one side of his head. 

The name " Krooman" is said to be a corruption of the term 
" crewmen," because of their general employment among vessels 
visiting the African coast. Among this people polygamy exists 
universally, and slavery to some extent; although slaves are 
bought only from other tribes, and are never sold to foreigners, or 
to any person out of their own tribe. The houses are built of a 
square form, of sticks covered Avith bamboo plaited, and the roof 
of leaf-thatch ; and the floor is of plaited bamboo, raised eighteen 
inches on cross-pieces ; and the door and loft above are not suffi- 
ciently high to permit an adult to enter without stooping, or to 
stand erect. There are generally three rooms in each house, sep- 
arated by partitions of plaited bamboo. The fire-place is made 
principally of hard clay, near one corner of the house, where is 
the only window, which serves both to admit light and open a 
passage for the smoke. The smoke penetrates the'interstices of 
the loft above and preserves the rice, which would otherAvise be 
destroyed by insects. 

Their furniture consists mostly, of a few cooking utensils ; the 
floor answers for bed, table, and chairs ; their pillow is a round 
stick of wood. Their dress is a piece of cloth Avrapped about the 
loins. Their dcA^otions are superstitiously gazing on the moon, 
and a feast on the first day of the moon, among the head men, 
and devotional Avalks in a thicket called the " devil's bush ; " and 
they depend on amulets or gree-grees for protection and defence. 
The latter are purchased from gree-gree doctors, for different sums 
of money, according to the purposes for Avhich they are designed. 
These amulets are sheep's horns, or small pockets, filled Avith 
herbs, palm-oil, and dirt, made by the conjuror or doctor. These 
doctors arc a distinct class of men, Avho come into the profession 
hereditarily — the heads of the families teaching their children the 



APPENDIX. S2o 

craft. The children destined to this profession cuter early upon 
their studies under some doctor — sometimes as early as seven or 
eight years of age — aud are distinguished by a peculiar straw 
dress. 

These doctors profess a knowledge of hcrlis and roots, and to 
have the means of curing diseases, and arc called to relieve the 
sick and afflicted ; but their greatest reputation is derived from 
their imagined supernatural knowledge. The Kroo people con- 
sider death and sickness as caused by witchcraft, and they employ 
and rely upon the "doctors to point out the person who has, by 
witchcraft, caused these evils. The person who is designated as 
guilty of the crime of witchcraft is arrested by the soldier king, 
and condemned to the ordeal of sassy-wood. The bark of the 
sassy-wood is powerfully narcotic, and a strong decoction of tliis, 
the person condemned is forced to drink ; and after he has drank 
it he walks to and fro, exclaiming, '' Am I a witch ? Am I a 
witch ? " "While one of the executioners walks behind him re- 
plying, " You are a witch. You are a witch," and thus continues 
until he either throws off the poison from his stomach, Avhen he is 
pronounced innocent, or it o})erates as a cathartic, when he is de- 
clared guilty, and compelled to take more of the decoction, and is 
subjected to other cruelties which cause his speedy death. When 
pronounced innocent, there is great joy and triumph among the 
friends of the accused, who march through the town dancing, sing- 
ing, and firing guns, and the conjurer resigns his fee to those who 
employed him. These shocking scenes of the ordeal of sassy- 
wood were of almost daily occurrence ii\ former times, l»ut have 
been much less frc(|uent since the establishment of missions 
among them. Sometimes this sassy-wood ordeal is used to decide 
questions between individuals ; and they voluntarily drink it to 
prove and settle some disputed points. It is one of the most pre- 
valent and cruel of African superstitions, and is practised among 
nearly all, if not all, the tribes of Africa. 

The laws of the Kroo people form a body of customs, handed 
down 1)y tradition from past generations, interpreted and enforced 
by the general council, Avho also enact occasional special laws, 
which are generally suggested or dictated by the doctor or conju- 
rer. The laws are imperfect, inconsistent, and unfair. If one man 

28 



326 APPENDIX. 

loses anything and accuses another of having stolen it, the accu- 
sed is required to drink sassy-wood water to prove his innocence. 
The ordeal of sassy-wood is, therefore, a penalty for almost all 
crimes, and exerts a poAyerful restraining influence on the commu- 
nity. "When the sassy-wood so affects the accused as to condemn 
him, his friends may buy him off from death for different sums of 
money, according to the wealth of the family accused ; but few 
are thus saved, in consequence of the poverty of the friends of 
the accused, and because, if once rescued, he is liable to be re- 
accused for any trifling offence. The ordeal of sassy-wood is fre- 
quently made to decide points of honor, precisely like the custom 
of duelling in the United States. 

The leading motives of the Kroo people are sensuality and van- 
ity. The men employed by vessels on the coast, and by traders 
as factors on shore, are industrious ; but on the plantations, and 
in their towns, the men are idle, and the women perform most of 
the labor. The men build the houses and clear the plantations ; 
but the women plant, watch, cultivate, and gather and beat the 
rice, and cut and bring the Avood, and perform all the labor about 
the house ; and especially those who are old and incapable of 
other labor, are constantly and industriously engaged in making 
salt, by boiling doAvn sea-water. Salt is a principal article of 
trade with the" interior tribes. 

The women seldom eat with the men, except a man's head or 
fiivorite wife, Avho superintends the cooking, and first tastes the 
food before he partakes of it. 

The system of poh'gamy gives rise to jealousies and many quar- 
rels among the women. All lawful wives are purchased Avheu 
children, and, on attaining a suitable age, are taken to their hus- 
bands. Besides these there is a class of Avomen Avho go and live 
with any man they choose, and leave him for an}- other at pleasure. 
When one or more of these leave a man and run to another, the 
one to Avhom they resort fires guns, and his laAvful Avives rejoice 
Avith liim ; because they regard it as adding importance to their 
husband, and it relieves tlicm from a portion of their labor. There 
appears to be a strong affection between parents and children, 
and brothers and sisters ; 1)ut iiolygamy dou])tless lessens the 
atlection betAveen husbands and Avivcs. 

Kroomen are passionate, but coAvardly ; fond of war and hunt- 



APPENDIX. 327 

ing, but have little skill in cither. Wlien especially intrusted 
with property they may be expected to be faithful ; but if they 
can slyly steal, they are apt to do it ; and in case one of their 
number informs against the thief, it is the law that the informer 
shall pay for the stolen property. 

The imports of the Republic of Liberia, on which duties were 
paid for the year ending September 30, 1851, amounted to §106, 
000. The exports, of which no account is kept, may be safely es- 
timated at a much larger sum, as along the entire coast commerce 
increases rapidly. 

From the Garraway to Cape Palmas is the Atlantic coast of 
territory settled by the Maryland Colonization Society. At the 
latter point the coast line tends abruptly to the east, along the 
Gulf of Guinea, as far as Cape Lahore. Between the Garraway and 
the first named Cape, besides the hill of Kabla, 290 feet high, near 
the shore, there are but three elevations visible from the sea, of 
which Flat Mountain is 1,090 feet in height; all else is level forest. 

Cape Palmas is a bold i^romontory, in a marked geographical 
position, where the Atlantic suddenly swerves to the left and forms 
the Gulf of Guinea. From the current Avhich sweeps into the 
gulf along the coast, all vessels bound in that direction avail 
themselves of it and pass within sight of the Cape, which must 
eventually attain great commercial importance. The extremity of 
the Cape is croAvned with a light-house, and is separated from the 
main land by the Iloftman river, which has from three to seven 
feet water upon its bar, and is navigable but a short distance from 
its mouth. The fine headland, the scattering houses upon its 
summit, the rocky islet on one side, and on the other, across the 
river, the wide extent of country, part forest and part prairie, pre- 
sent, from the anchorage, a beautiful appearance. The rocky islet, 
formerly used by the natives as a receptacle for their dead, is now 
called Russworm's island, in honor of the first colored governor of 
the colony. It is small and irregular in its outlines, the chafing 
of the sea having worn deep fissures in its sides. Between it 
and the peninsula is a narrow channel, practicable only for 
boats. Back of the Cape are seen houses of colonists, and the 
conical peaks of native huts, which from the sea, aj)pear to be 
confusedly intermingled. In the distance, shooting up from the 
plain, or overtopping the woodland, are many detached hills, one 



828 APPENDIX. 

of them to the north (Mount Vaughan) rendered conspicuous by 
the buildings of an Episcopal mission. 

There is here a public farm of sixteen acres, of which ten were 
in cultivation Avhen I saw it, and the remainder was used as pastu- 
rage. There were some coffee-trees, and the cassada, sweet pota- 
toes, plaintains, and Indian corn, were in cultivation. The coffee- 
trees did not seem to flourish, and altogether the farm presented a 
less thrifty appearance than it doubtless would have done had it 
been individual property. It is ever the case, that management by 
deputy will never compete with the superintending vigilance of 
the owner. I mean to cast no reflection on Dr. McGill, the colo- 
nial governor, whose time is engrossed by more i^ressing and 
important cares. 

In the two colonial settlements there are 122 voters and about 800 
inhabitants. I Avas there on an election day, and the place was 
.^uixe lively. The people were in their best attire. The men 
gathered in groups near the building where the poll was held, 
while the women stood about in the shade, principally near the 
stands, where some of their sex displayed, on long tables, cakes, 
fruit, etc., for sale. 

A short time ago it was unanimousl}" decided to declare the in- 
dependence of the colony, and this day the voters were assembled 
to elect commissioners to proceed to the United States and confer 
with the Maryland Colonization Society on the subject. At the same 
time delegates were to be elected to a convention for forming a State 
constitution. This act, seemingly premature, is, I believe, the off- 
spring of necessity. I am inclined to think so from what I see 
around me, and am convinced of it by the concurrence of the 
Society at home, which in most respects has heretofore so wisely 
directed the affairs of the colony. The election was conducted in 
a quiet and orderly manner, and I am satisfied that in its climate, 
soil, geographical position, and the general characters of its set- 
tlers, this colony possesses the elements of undeveloped prosperity. 
The settlement has heretofore ]>een retarded in its growth b}' the 
number of emigrants sent out, who were either infirm in health, 
feeble from age, or indolent in their habits arid of listless charac- 
ters — too many recently emancipated from slavery, with no idea of 
freedom beyond exemption from labor. A better time is approach- 
ing; and when the colony becomes an independent State, it will 



APPENDIX. 329 

compete with its sister republic to the north, in the advantages it 
presents to the enteri)rising settler. 

In and around Cape Pulnias, for four or five miles from the 
shore, the soil is a sandy prairie, but soon presents clay covered 
with vegetable mould ; and in the valle3^s between the clumps of 
hills, which are seen in every direction, is a rich alluvial soil ca- 
pable of supporting an immense population. Among these 
valleys are found most of the native villages. 

It now remains for me to speak of the best place to disembark 
an exploring party ; the proper inland route ; the precautions to 
be taken ; and the difficulties to be encountered. 

I consider Monrovia the best place for a party to ride out the 
fever in. I believe ii to be as healthy as any other settlement in 
Liberia, and good accommodation and nurses for the sick can 
there be procured. Besides, the intercourse of its inhabitants with 
the interior is more frequent, and extends farther inland, than 
from any other point I am aware of along the coast. Millsburg, 
at the head of the navigation of the St. Paul's, I recommend as the 
proper rendezvous, and the point from whence to take up the in- 
land march. 

Boporah, a populous native town, of Avhich 1 have spoken in 
this report, lies directly in the path which it seems to me should 
be pursued, and it should be reached as soon as possible, and 
made the pivot of operations for advancing inland, and keeping 
up a comnuinication with the sea-shore. 

The march from Boporah should be regulated l)y the nature of 
the country, and the distance and direction of the nearest moun- 
tain range, which must form the water-shed between the tributary 
streams of the Niger and those which flow into the Atlantic. 
That range attained, if it trend southeast, as it most probably 
does, it might be followed to the parallel of Cape Palmas, with a 
particular eye to the country on its Atlantic slope, and thence the 
expedition might descend and make its Avay to the sea. 

The obstacles to be encountered would be a dense forest, (through 
which, in many places, a path could only be cleared with the 
hatchet,) wild beasts, the frequent morasses, the jealousy and 
possible treachery of the natives, and sometimes the scarcity of 
food. 

28* 



330 APPENDIX. 

The party should consist of as few whites as possible. The 
commander ; an officer to take his place, should he perish ; a ph}-- 
sician, who should also be a naturalist ; and some twelve or fif- 
teen colonists would perhaps be sufficient. 

The energy of the white man is indispensable for such an under- 
taking ; but from the hostility of the climate to his race, as few 
as possible should embark in it. The main body, therefore, should 
be citizens of Liberia; but as no man of resolution and judgment 
.would undertake to head them unless they were under military 
organization, and bound to follow as long as he led the way, I 
suggest that if an expedition be organized, the government of Li- 
beria consent to its citizens enlisting under the flag of the United 
States, and thereby subject themselves to its martial code. — 
All ought to possess physical stamina, and the whites, especially, 
should be in the vigor of life, and, if possible, natives of our 
Southern States. 

I have considered it my duty to collect in my route all the in- 
formation I could as to the commerce of the places I visited. It 
has been presented in the body of this report, and few, I presume, 
are aware of the present magnitude and the annual increase of the 
commerce of Western Africa. For further information on this 
subject, I herewith submit the official reports of the British colo- 
nial possessions, transmitted with the Blue Book to both houses 
of Parliament. 

Our own proportion of the African trade is very large, and 
might be rendered yet more extensive by forming treaties with 
the principal independent tribes along the coast. England has 
alread}- negotiated eighty such treaties, her plenipotentiary being 
sometimes a lieutenant in her navy. To her honor be it said, that 
while looking to her commercial interests, she is not forgetful of 
the claims of humanity, and inserts, wherever she can, a clause 
prohibitory of the slave trade. She is, however, accused of re- 
viving that trade in another form, and I submit in the Appendix 
(No. 1) a proclamation of the President of Liberia on the subject. 

I will illustrate the advantages of the treaties to which I have 
alluded. It is a custom of the tribes, that all traffic with the na- 
tives shall be transacted through the kings and head men ; in 
other words, the head men and kings are the sole factors of their 
respective communities. By a stipulation of the treaty, these po- 



APPENDIX. 331 

tentates become responsible for the payment of debts contracted 
with an English trader. Should payment be withheld when due, 
(for the credit system prevails here as well as in the Christian 
world,) the trader seeks a British man-of-war, and communicates 
the circumstance to her commander, and the latter repairs instant- 
ly to the place and enforces payment. Not so with the American 
trader. If his debtors are disposed to defraud him, he has no re- 
dress ; and as native breach of faith is not unfrequent, he cannot 
fairly compete with the Englishman. With this report I submit 
two maps, on a large scale — one of the republic of Liberia, and 
the other of Maryland in Liberia — together with views of Monro- 
via, the residence of President Roberts, Cape Palraas, Mount 
Vaughan, and Russworm's Monument. 

In the " John Adams," we were ten days making a distance 
which a steamer could have accomplished in thirty-six hours. — 
From Monrovia to the island of St. Jago, vessels are often forty 
days on the passage, which a steamer could make in five. In one 
direction along the coast it is a drift with the sluggish current : 
in the other, it is working up against it with light and baffling 
winds. 

I do not say that the vessels we have on the coast do not some- 
times protect our commercial interests, or are not otherwise ser- 
viceable. I have mentioned the " John Adams" assisting a mer- 
chant vessel in distress ; and I submit in the Appendix (Nos. 2, 3, 
and 4) some letters from President Roberts, expressing acknow- 
ledgments for benefits derived from our squadron. But from the 
causes 1 have enumerated, our cruisers can visit very few places 
compared to the number that should be visited, and, as the log- 
books will testify, often remain long at their anchors, or make 
yet more lengthy passages to Maderia to recruit — a passage 
which, under canvass alone, in the teeth of the trade-wind, is 
often more prolonged and more wearing to the ship than if she 
came directly home. 

The service on the coast of Africa needs an incentive. Great 
Britain has twenty-seven vessels-of-war employed in the suppres- 
sion of the slave trade on that coast, and a large proportion of 
them are steamers, mostly small ones. Her naval officers have 
every inducement to seek service on that station, for he who attains 
to a higher grade by the death of his superior in rank, retains it 



832 APPENDIX. 

permanently, and does not as with us, hold it but temporarily. — 
The consequence is that the English far surpass us in activity on 
the coast of Africa. A very slight incentive would cause service 
on that coast to be coveted by our officers and crews. Within a 
few years two commanders have died on that station. If the two 
senior lieutenants in the squadron had been promoted permanent- 
ly, the files of the department would now exhibit more applications 
from lieutenants for service on that station than all others com- 
bined. And thus of every other grade, except the highest, which, 
living on its honors, should be influenced by higher inspirations. 

The arrogance of British officers heretofore, precludes the idea 
of an agreement to search respectively the vessels of either nation. 
It is a privilege which cannot safely be conceded to them, and we 
must at all hazards protect the integrity of our flag. But, for the 
honor of our country, and the protection of its commerce, it is to 
be hoped that small steamers will be substituted for our sailing 
vessels on the African coast, and that some incentive may be pre- 
sented which will infuse greater activity among them, and render 
them almost ubiquitous in the neighborhood of the slave marts, 
and the parts of the coast frequented by our traders, instead of 
making tedious passages to and fro from a few places, some of them 
too remote by far, or too long lying sluggishly at their anchors. 

Since my return I have received intelligence from Sierra Leone 
of the capture by British men-of-war of three slavers, one of them 
American. The prostitution of our flag, now so much facilitated 
by sea-letters, obtained principally at the consulates of Rio de 
Janerio and Havana, will continue, to our disgrace, until we have 
vessels on the coast of Africa propelled by steam, and manned 
with crews and commanded by officers who are stimulated, the 
one by increased pay and the hope of prize money, and the other 
by permanent promotion when vacancies are caused by death. — 
The climate is a trying one, and, as in battle, the places of those 
who perish should be filled by the survivors. 

I do not permit myself to dwell on the necessity of incorporating 
into the international code a clause declaring the slave-trade pira- 
cy under any flag ; nor the frequent decisions of our legal tribunals, 
(caused by the want of such declaration,) which have so discour- 
aged our ofticers. Of this want, and its attendant evil consequen- 
ces, the government has been long advised. 



APPENDIX. 333 

In estimating the amount of our African trade I have been 
careful not to exaggerate, and rejected every item not based on 
authentic data ; but there is so much traffic along the coast in 
articles never entered at a custom house, that I have reason to 
believe I have given twenty-five per cent, less than the actual im- 
ports ; and as the profits are very great, that the exports exceed 
the estimate nearly one hundred per cent. Apart, therefore, from 
the suppression of the slave-trade, our commerce with the west 
coast of Africa needs the protection of an efficient force — efficient 
more in its power of locomotion than in the number of its guns. 

A knowledge of the disadvantages under which our countrymen 
labor who trade along the coast, has induced these concluding re- 
marks, and I trust they will not be considered inappropriate. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, kc. 

W. F. LYNCH, Commander, U. S. iV. 

Hon. J. C. Dobbin, Secretary of the Navij. 



DR. LIVINGSTONE'S JOURNEY ACROSS THE AFRICAN 

CONTINENT. 

A letter has been addressed from Cassange, west coast of Africa 
(January 29, 1855,) by Dr. Livingstone to Mr. Maclear, Astronomer 
Royal : 

'' I am now (he says) on my way back to the Zambese, and 
thence I hope to descend to Quilimane, on the east coast. It is 
rather a difficult task, for I have none but Zambesians with me; 
and I suspect they will not be very willing to go so far from home, 
and return again without my company. The Portuguese gave me 
two Empaccaseiros, a sort of free-masons — a pretty powerful body 
in the country. They are faithful brave, and good shots. "We 
got on very well for some time; but at last, without saying any 
thing to any one, they took leave by night; and I must do the 
best I can alone. I intend going a little further east now, than 
when coming here, in order to avoid some tribes in our vicinity; 
then turn south, about longitude 22 degrees. We have had a great 
deal of sickness in Angola ; intermittent fever perpetually. Last 
nieht I had three hours of teeth chattering and breathing as hard 



334 APPENDIX. 

as if running up a hill. It enlarges the spleens of all the Portu- 
guese, and often ends fatally. The country is, ho"U'ever, most 
splendid. I never saw such luxuriant vegetation before. Every 
thing grows, if they only put it into the ground ; but the inhabi- 
tants, having been seduced by the gains of the slave trade, have 
paid small attention to the resources of their country. Coffee was 
introduced by the Jesuits ; and, finding a congenial soil and cli- 
mate, has propagated itself over the whole country. I saw it a 
short time ago at Tala Mongono, nearly three hundred miles 
inland, and fine plantations of it are daily discovered in the dense 
forests which line the sides of the mountains. It is the finest 
coffee in the world, being descended from the celebrated Mocha. 
It affords an excellent means of turning to honest industry from 
slave trading; for all that is necessary is to cut down the brush- 
wood, and leave the large trees to aflford shade, and then the per- 
son possesses a lucrative estate. Many South American fruit trees 
also introduced by the Jesuits, grow luxuriantly. Pine-apples are 
planted in rows on each side of the road for miles together. 

"I visited several of the 'extinct convents,' or, as we should say^ 
deserted missionary stations. Several of the churches would 
require but little to put them in repair. Their neat gardens stand 
as they left them. Their dormitories, too, and big chests, in which, 
I suppose, the brethern stored their grub; but there are no books, 
nor inscriptions on their graves. They were sometimes trouble- 
some to the powers that be; nearly as bad perhaps as the London 
missionaries ! But I have not much information about them. I 
picked up good chiefly ; not being much desirous for scandal, 
which may be got gratis nearer home. They have left a good 
impression of their devotedness, and very many can now read and 
Avrite in consequence. In the district of Ambaca it is considered 
a disgrace for any one to be ignorant of letters, and it is not un- 
usual for blacks to be seen in the evening with a fire-stick in one 
hand, and a pen in the other, writing in a beautiful hand a petition 
or other document to a commandant. If their labors were so per- 
manent, surely the efforts of Protestants of all denominations, who 
try to leave behind them the word of life, will be no less abiding. 
I Avas amused at one place, Avhcn looking at the ruins of a convent 
of Black Benedictines, for some unaccounta})le jerk in the associ- 
ation of ideas, made me immediately fancy one of the Hottentot 



APPENDIX. 335 

Benedictines up there at the Devil's Lop, Avitli a lot of spy-glasses, 
peering at your establishment. Do you remember a few beans I 
gave to Mrs. Maclear. I hope they grew; for that is the identical 
seed which yields the sweet-oil of commerce. The people pound 
it, then throw it into boiling water. The oil is skimmed oft" the 
top ; and I met hundreds of people conveying large jars of it to 
the coast for sale. When the oil is boiled with water three times 
— /. c. the water being changed thus often — it is used as salad oil ; 
and the bean itself toasted is delicious, being put on the tal)les of 
men-of-war as part of the dessert. Here it is named the Fingola, 
or Mendobi bean. I hope, by God's help, to reach the cast coast 
about the end of this year. I did not get a single letter from any 
of my friends while in Angola ; hence I am quite ignorant of my 
family and every private friend."' 



II_NEW JERSEY COLONY. 

His Excellency, Stephen" A. Bexsox, Governor of the Libcrian 
Republic, in a letter to the writer, lately transmitted the following 
brief description* of the New Jersey Colony, which he purchased 
some time previous to his election, as the agent of this Society : 

" Territory purchased for the New Jersey State Colonization 
Society : — 

" This tract of land was negotiated for and purchased by Messrs. 
James Moore and Stephen A. Benson, at the request of the New 
Jersey State Colonization Society, and comprises an area of about 
250 square miles, or 100,000 acres; and is bounded on the South 
East, by the river St. John, at a distance of about twenty-five 
miles from the coast. This extensive tract of land is one of the 
most beautiful spots connected with the Republic— being both 
elevated and fertile, well watered and free from miasmatic influ- 
ences. 

<' The whole face of the country presents a rich and fertile soil, 
well timbered, and admirably adapted to agricultural pursuits. — 
Here the industrious former may reap the reward of his labor in 
any of the numerous productions of a tropical climate. 

♦ This extract is taken fn-m Piihlic Records of the KepiiMic 



336 APPENDIX. 

" The mountain region is said to abound with rich Iron ore, 
M'hich can be obtained with comparatively little expense, and could 
be rendered valuable as an article of commerce — the quality not 
being inferior to any known to us. 

" The district, from its proximity to the Cam-wood country, offers 
considerable facility for commerce, and besides cam-wood, other 
articles valuable for commerce, might be obtained from the inte- 
rior, such as ivory, gums, cattle, &c., &c. 

" There might be some difficulty attending the conveyance of 
produce to the coast, at first, owing to the rapids or cataracts 
which prevent the navigation of the St. Paul's river for more than 
twelve miles : but the difficulty might be soon obviated, by cut- 
ting roads for the distance of about twelve miles, of sufficient width 
for wagons or carts, Avhich might be done at a small expense, and 
which the enterprising merchant would not fail to accomplish. 

" The site selected for the Town is not very distant from the moun- 
tain, and is considerably elevated. Emigrants going to this place 
will, without doubt, suffer less, in going through the acclimating 
process, than on the coast, being free from the influence of the 
deadly nu\laria, Avhich operates so unfavorably upon them, at 
present. 

" The aboriginal inhabitants of this district are mild and hospi- 
table, and peculiarly anxious to have the principles of civilization 
introduced among them. Here a vast field for missionary labor 
opens itself." 

Measures are now in prospect in the New Jersey Cnlouization 
Society for laying out the Town, to which Governor Benson refers 
in the above extract — and also for constructing at least one good 
Turnpike or Highway^ from the sea shore to the summit level of 
the Cam-wood country-, and as soon as the Society can realize 
funds for the purpose, it is intended to erect on the ToAvn-site 
suitable tenements, to be presented, Avith sufficient grounds, to the 
emigrants moving to that Retreat from Bondage and Oppression, 
that they may become not only Free, but Free-holders, independent 
citizens, in the land of their fathers. If there be full deliverance, 
and honor and glory, and felicity, in reserve for the poor, exilec^ 
smitten and groaning African — it is here. Escape then from your 
chains o-nd sadness to the free, and peacefal, and happy home, b'" 
off'ered to jou, without money and without price. 



< 



> 



V 



If- 











4> 6 ° " <» * <^ 



.0' 







. ^v ^^^ 




/ '^ 



^^ 




,4 p^ 




i°-^*. 







^ c " " ♦ <^ 

•^0 




^oK 







4^^ 



\> 5 o • , /- 




' /\ 










* <^' '^^. °o't</M\V)^*'*' A^ ^. 







0' 








^0' 







X 















1 > «<V tf« 













*^. 






A <^ *' .. s* 0^ 







^^ 



JUNE 70 



^^■i*- N. MANCHESTER, 
v>^^-- INDIANA 






-C ia. 



^' 



HBRARY OF CONGRESS 



1 I. '^'fl^^^^^^^^^^H 


^^Bb 


011 898 916 8 


lil 




^ 




* 



'i>ii,».iT:i!'i!>;j<t'vwt'i''ffl):):iiw 



